The core of this question is less whether a Christian should fly and more the level of “sacredness” a Christian applies to Sunday. The reasons that Christians observe Sunday as “the Lord’s Day” rather than observing a Saturday Sabbath are discussed in many other places. While the Christian’s priorities of family, worship, fellowship, etc., are important, these obligations can be met on any day of the week.
In a fighter pilot’s career, it is a near certainty that at some point he will be asked/required to fly on Sunday, whether for cross-countries, exercises, or combat. There is no Biblical or moral reason a Christian should refuse to fly on Sunday. That said, when possible a fighter pilot should try to keep his weekends “sacred.” For a perspective on the temptation to catch up on work on the weekends (which is a different subject altogether), see the family section of the article on Christian Priorities.
The Bible specifically and explicitly calls the use of profanity a sin. Therefore, it is inconsistent with the Christian character for a Christian fighter pilot to use profanity in either its full, abbreviated, or substituted forms. See the article on profanity, as well as the article on the double entendre of “so to speak.”
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. — James 3:10
There is probably no fighter pilot tradition that carries as much peer pressure as the Naming. It is the very means by which a fighter pilot “receives” his callsign. Some Christians have participated in Namings (on both the receiving and giving sides) and others have also refused to do so. There is no simple, single answer. For insight, see the Naming section of the article on Fighter Pilot Traditions and one pilot’s naming experience.
“Namings” are ceremonies in which fighter pilots are “given” the callsigns they will be known by. See the section on Namings from the article on Fighter Pilot Traditions. Also read about one pilot’s naming experience.
There does not appear to be a Biblical command for totally abstaining from alcohol. Some might successfully argue that the New Testament actually explicitly allows it. Personally, partaking in alcohol does not appear to be morally wrong.
However, fighter pilots have a tendency to drink excessively, almost as if alcohol is either “on” or “off.” If your behavior is unChristian when you drink, or worse, if you can’t remember what your behavior was, then you are participating in drunkenness, which is listed as a sin (1Cor 5:19-21). Additionally, even though drinking in and of itself is not morally wrong, if it is a stumbling block to another Christian then it is wrong for you to partake.
See the article on Christian Fighter Participation on the topic of the Christian witness.
Being a Christian and also being a firefighter, CEO, or grade school teacher all have challenges because Christians live “in” the world as strangers in a foreign land. The fighter pilot community is unique, however, because it has virtually institutionalized the very worldly vices Christians have been told to forsake. Profanity, sexuality, and immorality pervade the fighter pilot culture like few other “honorable” professions (thus the anonymous quote that being a fighter pilot is like being in a motorcycle gang, except that your mother is still proud of you).
An Army article covering the commissioning of Clemson University ROTC graduates noted that their ceremony ended with a “Silver Dollar Salute ceremony”, encapsulating a tradition involving a young officer’s first salute: Read more