HomeMy Public PortalAboutWall, SeanMcCall Navy. flier
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BY CHERIE A. BEATTY likes his work
For The Star News
Sean Wall wasn't home for
Thanksgiving or Christmas, and it
is unlikely he will be home for St.
Valentine's Day.
Missing the traditional family
holidays is part of what Wall decided
would be part of his world when he
traded a more traditional career for
the cockpit of the Navy's F-14
Tomcat.
Wall, 25, is the son of John and
Susan Wall of McCall. He is as-
signed to Fighter Squadron (VF) 14
and is now deployed to the Mediter-
ranean Sea as part of the aircraft car-
rier Kennedy's battle group.
A lieutenant, Wall says he was
always interested in flying, but
wasn't sure that naval aviation
would be for him because his aca-
demic skills in math and science
were not strong. Instead, he concen-
trated on first things first and the
rest seemed to fall into place.
"After I graduated from McCall -
Donnelly High School, I went to
the University of Idaho at Moscow
and got into the ROTC program
there. My primary focus was to
learn to be a good naval officer first.
When I was selected for aviation,
that was a bonus."
A radar intercept officer, Wail has
been trained to handle the navigation
and communication equipment
aboard the Tomcat and to control the
fighter's weapons system.
"People always ask me what it's
like to fly," he said. "It's surprising,
but there is no sense of speed when
we're flying. Still there's a certain
sense of thrill in hanging upside
down in the air and going in loops.
The highest speed roller coaster ride
pales in comparison."
The aerobatic maneuvers he de-
scribes as "thrilling" are not done
for fun but to practice as part of the
deadly ballet that is aerial air-to-air
combat, he said. During the Gulf
War, the vintage F-14 demonstrated
that it could still control the skies
when manned by highly trained
crews.
"The whole idea of combat flying
is frightening," Wall said. "It's in-
teresting to me that although you're
afraid, you are also confident that
you're well trained and ready if war
comes."
While deployed, the men of VF-
14 will fly missions each day. Each
mission is approached with the
same seriousness as if combat were
likely. In addition to projecting
power, routine deployments also al-
low the Navy to practice the skills
and coordinated activities that are re-
quired during wartime operations.
The 10,000 person Kennedy bat-
tle group was the first to deploy fol-
lowing the issuance of the Navy's
white paper, "From the Sea," which
outlines the new strategy for the sea
service as it restructures to meet the
demands of the changing world
scene.
If the laws are changed to allow
military women an active role in
combat, Wall may see another
change as female pilots report to
carrier -based squadrons.
"I wouldn't mind at all if my
wing 'man' was a woman," said
Wall. "When we've got our oxygen
masks on and our visors down, we
aren't men or women, we're ajlots
and navigators."
Wall believes that there are some
attributes that mark successful
fighter aviators. "You have to be
self-confident, dedicated and willing
to take it on the chin now and
again. You have to be able to take
constructive criticism because there
are no second chances in carrier avia-
tion," he said.
Wall says that there are some
disadvantages to his chosen profes-
sion, but notes that the drawbacks
are shared by anyone who joins the
Navy. "Being deployed for six
months and being separated from
your family is hard," said Wall, who
is married to the former Melissa S.
McMichael, a certified public ac-
countant.
Wall hopes to make the Navy a
career. He acknowledges that the
military is going to go through
some changes, but he feels that he's
the sort of person that can help the
Navy make the transition from Cold
Warriors to whatever lies over the
horizon.
U.S. Navy Photo by PH1 (AW) Timothy Wood
Navy Lt. Sean Wall stands by a VF-14 fighter.