Professionalism

In the next year I will be commissioning in the United States Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant.  Upon completion of both The Basic School and Naval Flight School I will be a Naval Aviator in the United States Marine Corps.  I hope to end up as some sort of fixed-wing pilot, but would be happy and proud to fly any aircraft in the fleet.

The United States Marine Corps, in my opinion, is one of the finest fighting forces in the world.  The Marine Corps can handle any mission at any time, and is the worlds "911 force".  The forces main mission is to support the Marines on the ground at all costs, and the mission of Marine Corps aviation is to do just that through close air support.  The Marine Corps prides itself on professionalism, and their core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.

With any job in the Military their is a inherent risk associated with it, as well as, a multitude of safety concerns.  In my chosen career path, not only are you flying the World's fastest aircraft, but you are flying them into combat zones.  The Military has some of the best training and take safety into consideration in everything they do.  The Marine Corps in particular does an excellent job maintain the aging fleet of aircraft that it has.  There really isn't much I can do to mitigate the risk of flying combat missions, but my plan is that I will continue to expand my training and level of education, as well as, fight complacency no matter how old or experienced I get.  I believe that as long as I continue to follow procedure and continue to learn I will be able to lower the risk of being a Marine Corps pilot. 

To me professionalism is more than just doing your job and doing it right.  Professionalism is being bold and courageous.  It is making decisions and being a leader in situations that call for it.  Professionalism is being a representative of the company or organization you work for and acting accordingly.  It is upholding your appearance, personal hygiene, and having couth at all times.  Being a professional is also not just about how you represent yourself and your company, it also has a lot to do with your morals and character as a person. 

In the documentary "Flying Cheap" there were many examples of both pilots and aviation officials showing a lack of professionalism.  One example of this is when a Captain at Colgan Air, fixed the passenger manifest so that they legally were under weight.  This shows that the Captain not only had bad decision making skills, but also shows laziness, immaturity, poor morals, and a lack of professionalism.  That Captain put the passengers and crew at risk, and luckily no one was hurt.  Another example would be when a hearing was conducted over the falsifying of these documents Colgan Air supported the Captain and went as far as to say he was a great pilot.  This shows a lack of professionalism from the company because he was caught falsifying documents yet they chose to stick up for him anyway.  They should have fired the Captain and cared more about the image of their company.

One thing the Marine Corps prides itself on is professionalism of its fighting force.  Every Marine represents the Marine Corps and most all of them uphold the highest of standards.  Going into the career I have chosen I plan to always maintain the highest level of professionalism as a Marine first!  Being a Marine Officer and a leader of Marines is my number one job.  After that I can focus on my job as a Marine Corps Aviator and ensure that I again hold myself to the highest of standards as a pilot.