The first day of work at VMFAT-101

The first day at work: Eventually the triple alarm clock assurance wasn't needed as the excitement took care of the waking up before half past five. I dressed up according to the guideline to my parade uniform M51, put my face and hair in order and left for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

I was supposed to meet my point of contact in front of the squadron at 0730. This time, I cannot talk about military precision, because I arrived as early as 0705. The morning traffic wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, so commuting took only about half an hour. Fortunately, the other fellow pilots arrived also early, so I didn't have to wait outside too long.

The arrival of a foreign instructor to the VMFAT-101 isn't an everyday thing. Maybe it was because I'm a Finn, but the sign-in process wasn't smooth. Of course a big thing was I didn't have my local social security number yet, which is needed for pretty much everywhere here. I know I'm not the first exchange pilot here, because two Brits just headed back home little earlier this year. I guess it's a little  easier for them to have this kind of tour, because of the same language and due to the fact that they are a NATO country like USA.

At nine o'clock I had a meeting with the Commanding Officer. Our CO, Colonel Burton wanted to highlight the three cornerstones of the VMFAT-101:

Professional.

Courteous.

Deadly.

I think these three words are the very essence of the entire Marine Corps. Their motto "Semper Fidelis" or better known as the abbreviated version "Semper fi", "always faithful", sums it up really well. Being a Marine is not just a job; it is a way of life. Semper Fi's deepest essence is to understand the fact that you own your life to the Marine Corps and they will take care of their own.

After the meeting, I went to change my parade uniform to my more comfy green flight suit, which quite blatantly differs from the beige flight suits of the locals. The next scene could have been even from a movie: Colonel Burton came to talk to me just right when I pulled my flightsuit's zipper closed. When he entered the room, he called: "Yo, Stallion!" and threw me the squadron badges. Fortunately my reactions were good enough and I grabbed the throw quite nicely. I responded "Thank you, Sir", as he winked and left the room without saying a word. Afterwards I realized that it was a pretty damn good thing that I caught the throw there. The badges and emblems are almost sacred things to the pilots, they are only to be given to distinguished persons who deserve them. It would have been a pretty bad start to drop one of the most valuable things in the squadron to the floor. Now I stand very proud with my VMFAT-101 badge on my chest.

Apparently the green Finnish flightsuit caused interest in the local pilots. Most of the came immediately to shake my hand and said they looked forward to flying with me. I felt very very welcome right from the start.

There's always a story behind the pilots' callsigns. They may be given because of someone's personality, looks, weird habits or even just purely on the basis of the making something really stupid. Usually airborne. My callsign "Stallion" is considered to be quite a cool nickname, though its background isn't exactly glorious. I'm very eager to hear the stories behind locals' callsigns like Crow, Postal, Stork and Bildo, all of which are certainly associated with fantastic stories.

Before the start of the flight phase, I have to do a lot of studying. It is extremely important to know everything thoroughly because, in the future as an instructor, I can then demand students to do know them and keep the requirement level high. If the students are given the permission to go easy, they might think that they don't have to work hard. Lowering the requirement level will eventually produce pilots who won't meet the operational requirements. That isn't desired.

The local aircraft are different upgrade level than the Finnish Air Force Hornets. That's why I'll have to start from the basics and open the manuals to see what these lower lot babies have eaten. I'll also fly the older F/A-18B model here and what I've heard, it differs from the Finnish F/A-18C/D quite a bit. I hope I'll be starting the simulator flights shortly. Then, I'll move on to the real flight phase including IUT (Instructor Under Training) syllabus, which assures that I am capable to operate as an F/A-18 flight instructor in the squadron.

According to the current plans, I'll be assigned to the A/G (Air-to-Ground) shop, which is responsible for air-to-ground training planning. It is an excellent option for me because one of the biggest things for the three-year exchange program is the integration and development of the FINAF's air-to-ground tactics. Therefore, I get to be exactly where the action is right from the beginning. Finnish Air Force's special expertise, so far, has been air-to-air warfare. I guess the USMC might have interests in using me also in air-to-air missions because that's what I've been doing the last 8 years of Hornet flying.

After being an air combat instructor for the last couple years, I'm back on the student's bench. Someone might think it's not very motivating to be at the lower end of the ladder again, but not me. To be honest, I'm extremely motivated and excited about the upcoming time at work. Rock on!