Our tour bus cruises through the security checkpoint. It's cool being a VIP! There are no walk-on tours here. You have to be part of a pre-arranged visit.
Our guide for the day, Petty Officer Rick, a JO 1. That's "Journalist
Officer" to you civilians. Over lunch, he related that he loves his work,
but that many people at Top Gun can expect to make only about $20K/year
throughout their career. Many members of the military are on food stamps
and welfare. It's too bad, because they have to work hard, and occasionally
go into harm's way. Rick was an especially nice guy, and gave us a great
tour.
Navy Fighter Weapons School. Oh Momma! Top Gun is actually just part of the curriculum here. Think of Top Gun as the graduate school for fighter jocks. Only 1 in 100 pilots get to go. Their job is to absorb as much as possible in 10 weeks and then carry it back to their comrades in the fleet.
First stop, the chow line. I guess we learned why the military calls this "mess". For $3, you get to have either burgers & hot dogs or the specialty of the house. This nice lady is dishing up Chinese food today. It was not quite as elegant as San Francisco's more tony eating establishments. Interestingly, we were reminded that this was a pilot's school by the scale that sits at the end of the line. They can be grounded if they weigh too much. Every item is listed with calories and grams of fat. I tried to get mashed potatoes and gravy instead of carrots and was warned that I already had fried rice and was not allowed two starches. This isn't a job, it's an adventure!
Having eaten (I think that's what we did), it was time to ascend the control tower and get a view of the overall facility.
Pretty good view up here!
The view from the tower. Moving from left to right, we have rows of F-18's. The row to the far right has some F-14's. You'll notice they're mostly the standard grey-blue color, but a few are brown, and one just off the edge is a pretty sky blue. These are the Aggressor planes. They painted to match the colors of Russia, Libya, and Iran, and carry the markings of those countries. Don't feel to bad for these rabbits among the wolves--the instructors fly them and generally humiliate the students.
Another control tower view, to the left of the one above. The planes right of center are F-5's. They're entirely used in the Aggressor role. The F5 is a small and highly maneuverable plane that emulates the flight characteristics of a MiG extremely well. The longest row is actually the bone yard. These planes are kept flying by cannibalizing that bone yard for parts. The planes on the left are for some of the less advanced (i.e. not Top Gun) students who come here.