WEBVTT

00:01.039 --> 00:03.039
If you had to guess where Danish or

00:03.039 --> 00:05.150
Belgian fighter pilots learned how to

00:05.150 --> 00:09.109
fly . Would you say Texas ? It

00:09.119 --> 00:11.699
seems unlikely . But it's true for 40

00:11.710 --> 00:13.877
years , aspiring pilots from more than

00:13.877 --> 00:15.988
a dozen NATO nations have traveled to

00:15.988 --> 00:18.210
the USA to learn how to fly at Shepherd

00:18.210 --> 00:20.450
Air Force Base , home to the Euro NATO

00:20.459 --> 00:22.403
joint jet pilot training program .

00:23.000 --> 00:24.889
We're looking for that drive that

00:24.889 --> 00:26.667
determination . A lot of people

00:26.667 --> 00:28.778
naturally have that ingrained in them

00:28.778 --> 00:28.219
and that's why they chose this

00:28.229 --> 00:29.229
profession .

00:36.549 --> 00:39.810
Welcome to Texas . It's a long way from

00:39.819 --> 00:41.930
Europe . But if nato's student pilots

00:41.930 --> 00:43.819
are going to become fully fledged

00:43.819 --> 00:45.930
military aviators , they still have a

00:45.930 --> 00:48.041
long way to go . I wanted to become a

00:48.041 --> 00:50.041
pilot since I was a small boy . And

00:50.041 --> 00:52.208
when I joined the Air Force just after

00:52.208 --> 00:54.375
high school , I decided that going for

00:54.375 --> 00:56.220
the pilot path was my dream .

00:58.880 --> 01:01.139
But everyone wishes to uh have an

01:01.150 --> 01:03.900
impact on the world and that's how I

01:03.909 --> 01:06.529
think I can make the biggest impact .

01:07.510 --> 01:09.677
These young men and women are stepping

01:09.677 --> 01:11.510
into a decades long tradition of

01:11.510 --> 01:14.769
multinational training . More than 40

01:14.779 --> 01:17.050
years ago , several NATO allies wanted

01:17.059 --> 01:19.170
to find a more efficient way to train

01:19.170 --> 01:21.281
fighter pilots . They decided then to

01:21.281 --> 01:23.392
set up a joint course at Shepherd Air

01:23.392 --> 01:25.337
Force Space where frequently clear

01:25.337 --> 01:27.170
skies made for an ideal training

01:27.170 --> 01:29.392
environment . It was founded in October

01:29.392 --> 01:32.550
of 1980 . Uh and initially had a few

01:32.559 --> 01:34.781
partners , Germany and the US have been

01:34.781 --> 01:36.948
training together . It has since grown

01:36.948 --> 01:39.115
to 14 nations that send us instructors

01:39.115 --> 01:41.860
students today . This course works like

01:41.870 --> 01:44.250
a microcosm of the larger alliance from

01:44.260 --> 01:46.316
the nations involved to the way they

01:46.316 --> 01:48.371
make decisions that allows us to get

01:48.371 --> 01:50.593
from the very beginning of our military

01:50.593 --> 01:52.204
careers and appreciation and

01:52.204 --> 01:54.260
understanding of the cultures of our

01:54.260 --> 01:54.120
allies .

01:59.080 --> 02:01.080
When student aviators arrive , they

02:01.080 --> 02:03.136
undergo an intensive academic course

02:03.136 --> 02:05.247
known as ground school . After that ,

02:05.247 --> 02:07.469
it's on to their first aircraft , the T

02:07.469 --> 02:09.889
six Texan two A turboprop jet designed

02:09.899 --> 02:11.788
to teach them the fundamentals of

02:11.788 --> 02:13.955
flight , including takeoffs , landings

02:13.955 --> 02:15.910
and formations . The first time

02:15.919 --> 02:17.697
climbing , the T six was really

02:17.697 --> 02:19.863
exciting because we've been so much in

02:19.863 --> 02:21.863
the simulator . Um but still , it's

02:21.863 --> 02:23.863
really hard to prepare for the real

02:23.863 --> 02:26.030
thing . So uh just getting to do the ,

02:26.030 --> 02:28.197
the ground operations and pressing all

02:28.197 --> 02:27.820
the right switches at the right moment

02:27.910 --> 02:30.132
was quite difficult . But uh as you get

02:30.132 --> 02:32.299
more experienced , it becomes more and

02:32.299 --> 02:34.740
more natural planet T six is an awesome

02:34.750 --> 02:36.750
experience . It's a really powerful

02:36.750 --> 02:38.917
aircraft , you can pull some GS and do

02:38.917 --> 02:41.139
some aerobatics in the area . So that's

02:41.139 --> 02:43.250
uh that's really nice . Some students

02:43.250 --> 02:45.472
then move on to the T 38 talent , a jet

02:45.472 --> 02:47.583
fighter trainer capable of supersonic

02:47.583 --> 02:49.917
speeds and dizzying feats of aerobatics .

02:50.339 --> 02:53.110
Going from uh the T six Texan to a

02:53.119 --> 02:55.589
supersonic jet trainer . Obviously a

02:55.600 --> 02:57.767
lot faster you get some after burner .

02:57.767 --> 03:00.410
That's pretty fun . In the beginning .

03:00.419 --> 03:03.149
First flight I had on T 38 you light

03:03.160 --> 03:05.327
the after burners and you just release

03:05.327 --> 03:07.216
the brakes and you feel the after

03:07.216 --> 03:09.271
burners kick in for the first time .

03:09.271 --> 03:11.160
It's an amazing feeling . T 38 is

03:11.160 --> 03:13.382
difficult . You get to push yourself to

03:13.382 --> 03:15.604
your limits , information . You have to

03:15.604 --> 03:18.199
monitor the other aircraft . You have

03:18.210 --> 03:20.321
to uh match him . You have to be able

03:20.321 --> 03:23.940
to anticipate all the while students

03:23.949 --> 03:25.727
are immersed in a multinational

03:25.727 --> 03:27.949
environment . A student might have an

03:27.960 --> 03:30.350
Italian flight commander and a German

03:30.360 --> 03:32.679
squadron commander . The point is the ,

03:32.690 --> 03:35.710
as NATO can truly come up with the most

03:35.720 --> 03:38.110
efficient and best practices for our

03:38.119 --> 03:41.460
air forces . I'm going

03:42.279 --> 03:44.501
for students . The days start early and

03:44.501 --> 03:47.350
end late . They sacrifice sleep for

03:47.360 --> 03:49.638
study time , leisure for long sessions .

03:49.638 --> 03:53.360
In the simulator being a military

03:53.369 --> 03:55.729
aviator takes more than raw skill . It

03:55.740 --> 03:57.796
takes grit . A lot of the folks that

03:57.796 --> 04:00.018
arrive here are the best of the best of

04:00.018 --> 04:01.962
the best . They are the top 10% in

04:01.962 --> 04:04.018
their classes . Many of them are not

04:04.018 --> 04:06.129
used to failing , but they are put in

04:06.129 --> 04:08.240
challenges frankly , just not natural

04:08.240 --> 04:10.296
for the human body and the human and

04:10.296 --> 04:12.407
oftentimes they meet with failure for

04:12.407 --> 04:14.629
the first time in their lives . And the

04:14.629 --> 04:14.279
big thing that we emphasize to them is

04:14.289 --> 04:16.470
that's ok . You move past it , you

04:16.480 --> 04:18.929
learn from it . And that experience of

04:18.940 --> 04:21.162
those little micro failures so that you

04:21.162 --> 04:22.940
can ultimately reach success is

04:22.940 --> 04:25.051
probably one of the greater assets of

04:25.051 --> 04:27.218
this program . There's a reason behind

04:27.218 --> 04:29.218
the marathon study sessions and the

04:29.218 --> 04:31.273
long days in the cockpit , these men

04:31.273 --> 04:33.440
and women aren't just pilots . They're

04:33.440 --> 04:35.384
military officers sworn to protect

04:35.384 --> 04:37.496
their country and their allies should

04:37.496 --> 04:39.551
NATO need to defend itself . Some of

04:39.551 --> 04:41.718
that responsibility will fall on their

04:41.718 --> 04:43.884
shoulders . The conflict that is going

04:43.884 --> 04:46.051
on right now in Ukraine has definitely

04:46.051 --> 04:48.320
changed the tenor , definitely focus

04:48.329 --> 04:50.440
everyone's attention , make sure that

04:50.440 --> 04:52.700
they are on point and try to do not

04:52.709 --> 04:54.709
just enough to get by but to be the

04:54.709 --> 04:56.487
best they can in the event that

04:56.487 --> 04:58.653
sometime in the future they are called

04:58.653 --> 05:01.600
to serve the NATO alliance . Oh , you ,

05:04.100 --> 05:06.044
when the students pass their final

05:06.044 --> 05:08.156
flights , there's only one thing left

05:08.156 --> 05:10.322
to do . Figure out which aircraft will

05:10.322 --> 05:12.489
spend their careers flying . They find

05:12.489 --> 05:14.450
out at a ceremony called Dr ,

05:17.549 --> 05:19.716
usually it's a ton of emotions , a ton

05:19.716 --> 05:21.882
of excitement . The class is there for

05:21.882 --> 05:24.105
support . Everyone loves celebrating as

05:24.105 --> 05:26.470
a class . I want to fly the F-16 , the

05:26.570 --> 05:28.720
Viper . It's the only flight to the

05:28.730 --> 05:31.008
aircraft we have in Belgium , but it's ,

05:31.008 --> 05:33.970
it's a good one . Hi , Dee , what are

05:33.980 --> 05:34.980
you doing ?

05:41.899 --> 05:43.955
Working together with student pilots

05:43.955 --> 05:46.177
from almost all over the world has been

05:46.177 --> 05:48.177
for me , like the best thing that's

05:48.177 --> 05:50.121
happened to me in , in my life . I

05:50.121 --> 05:52.630
would say you get friends that you will

05:52.640 --> 05:55.200
have for life , you will most probably

05:55.209 --> 05:58.170
be work with them in the future . It's

05:58.179 --> 06:00.235
a thrilling moment and nato's newest

06:00.235 --> 06:02.123
pilots carry themselves with hard

06:02.123 --> 06:04.235
earned pride from here . It's back to

06:04.235 --> 06:06.401
their home countries to train on their

06:06.401 --> 06:08.068
assigned aircraft and prepare

06:08.068 --> 06:10.068
themselves for the task of securing

06:10.068 --> 06:09.459
NATO Scots .