Finnish fighter pilot lands on US aircraft carrier

As part of a pilot exchange program, a Finnish Air Force pilot landed a F/A-18C Hornet on a U.S. aircraft carrier on March 17, a first for the two countries.

Capt. Juha “Stallion” Jarvinen successfully performed the arrested landing on the Nimitz-class carrier Abraham Lincoln, according to a Navy press release, as part of the first pilot exchange between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Finnish Air Force.

Jarvinen first had to complete the same training as Navy and Marine Corps pilots before landing on the carrier.

“We put him through the same repetitions of fuel carrier landing practice events that all students go through,” said program instructor Maj. Shane Bursae in the press release. “The purpose of this is so that when he does move on to teach students in the Finnish Air Force, he has knowledge and first-hand experience of what he is teaching.”

The arrested landing is challenging to perform, as the pilot must hook on to one of four wires located on the flight deck. Ideally, they hook the third wire, which will give them the safest landing.

“It was pretty intense,” said Jarvinen in the release. “I was extremely happy because I knew I actually caught the wire when I felt the sensation of rapidly slowing down, but at the same time I was a little disappointed because I caught the second wire and not the third.”

The Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 program is meant to strengthen military partnerships between the two countries and to improve the pilot training programs for all involved.

“I’m excited to bring back a lot of real experience,” said Jarvinen in the press release. “Not theory, but real life training experience. Now this is all reality to me, and I have a better understanding of the big picture.”

In Other News

A child thought he’d found a rock — it was actually a Marine’s jawbone

A human jawbone discovered in the Arizona desert was recently discovered to belong to a U.S. Marine Corps captain.

Internet subsidy used by millions of vets, troops set to expire in May

A federal program that helps troops and veterans pay for home internet access will run out of funding next month without congressional action.

Meet the Marine aviator of the year ― an unmanned aerial vehicle pilot

Maj. Shane Gentry used his real-world experience remotely piloting the MQ-9A in combat missions to train other Marines to fly the aircraft.

‘The flak can’t always miss. Somebody’s gotta’ die’

An excerpt from 'I Will Tell No War Stories' by Howard Mansfield.

Senators push VA to fix problems with vets’ toxic exposure claims

A group of Senate Democrats wants quicker action from VA leaders on solutions to some problematic toxic exposure disability claims.

Supreme Court rules in favor of veteran who sued over GI Bill limits

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a veteran who wanted to use both his Post-9/11 GI Bill and Montgomery GI Bill benefits.

Korean War hero Ralph Puckett to lie in honor at US Capitol

Medal of Honor recipient Ralph Puckett will lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol in recognition of his heroism during the Korean War.

Retiring Marines have to give 6 months’ notice, up from 4 months

Want to retire from the Marine Corps? The service now requires at least six months' heads up.

His father never spoke of WWII. His flight logs told the story for him

Historian and author Howard Mansfield had vowed to never write another word about World War II. Until another one fell into his lap.

US military to expand universal pre-K at dozens more bases this fall

The U.S. military will rapidly expand its universal pre-K program to another 79 primary schools, for a total of 80 locations, in the 2024-2025 school year.

Load More