Cool Fighter Pilot Jobs

While most people know about the stereotypical fighter pilot roles (shoot down the bad guys, drop bombs in support of the Army), few know of the very unique opportunities fighter pilots have.  Like seeing a space shuttle launch.  From overhead the launch pad.

F-15Es from Seymour Johnson were tasked to protect the airspace around the shuttle launch.  So, of course, they had to watch it…

USAF Fighter Pilot.  One of the coolest jobs in the world.

8 comments

  • JD – this is going to seem random and arbitrary, so I hope you’ll answer, and then would be fine with you deleting. Is “MOS” a term that is used across all branches of the military?

  • A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code (MOS), is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC) is used. In the United States Navy, a system of naval ratings and designators is used along with Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system.

    from wikipedia

  • Thanks, Dealer. So would someone Navy or AF understand what a Marine is asking when they say, “What is your MOS?” or would that maybe not make complete sense to them?

  • JD – BTW, and ON-topic – that’s a great photo.

  • Beautiful. Thank you for this.

  • albatross-

    probably not. technically MOS, NEC, and AFSC’s are codes. I’m an 11F, but my current code is 11U, meaning that I’m a fighter pilot currently serving as Predator pilot.

    On topic, this assignment was my dream: it must have been a wonderful experience

  • Was this STS-132?

  • Yes, this was STS-132, Space Shuttle Atlantis, launching on 14 May 2010.

    If someone in the Navy or AF has had interaction with the Army or Marines, they may know what an MOS is. If not, they probably don’t, though it would take less than a sentence or two for people in any service to figure out what the other person was talking about. It’s essentially just a different word for a similar classification system.