Perspective from U.S. Naval Academy Leadership

摘要

ANA was interested in hearing CAPT Bernacchi's perspective on teaching leadership, mentoring, and educating Midshipmen "on the Yard".This is your first assignment at the Naval Academy. What are your impressions since arriving in early 2019?It's been really enjoyable, equally busy and rewarding, and it doesn 't take long to get that Blue and Gold blood flowing in your body. I'm continually impressed with the pace and rigor of a Midshipman s daily schedule of academics, military duties, and athletics. What was it like to step out of a Fleet cockpit after two decades of flying? Bittersweet for sure. I feel incredibly fortunate for the flying opportunities that I've had, and certainly flying my last thousand hours with the Blue Angels was an amazing privilege. But more to that point, every flight in an aircraft that says "Navy " or "Marines " on the side, whether operationally or in training, is absolutely a privilege. My last flight in a Navy jet was in a VX-23 Super Hornet, but one of the cool things about being here at USNA is that those of us wearing gold wings have the opportunity to fly as CFIs for what we call VT-NA, and the Powered Flight Program, in which we typically take about 130 Midshipmen who have never flown, and get them to a solo flight in a Piper Warrior in ten FAM flights that are very similar in format and standards to what they will experience when they get to primary in the T-6.