EPISODE THIRTY-EIGHT
Welcome to “Safe on Deck”. My name is Antonio Gemma More'. In the fleet I flew the MH-53E “Sea Dragon” helicopter, and these days I instruct the next generation of Naval Flight Officers in the T-6A “Texan II”. Throughout my incredibly short time in aviation, I have been fortunate to meet a wide cross-section of aviators. Along the way I have done my best to document each and every flying memory, but eventually I came to realize that even the sharpest photo or the highest-quality video can only really capture so much. Everyone I have met has a unique story to tell, and “Safe on Deck” is my humble attempt to capture as many of those exciting and inspiring aviation stories as possible.
For episode thirty-eight I sat down with Col Randel “Laz” Gordon at the Tullahoma Regional Airport in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Col Gordon was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant following graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1998, and upon completion of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) he was selected to fly the F-15C “Eagle”. Following his first operational tour flying the Eagle in Alaska, Col Gordon reported first to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) and next to Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) before he was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base as a F-15C/E Instructor Pilot and Experimental Text Pilot and A-10A/C and BD-700 Experimental Test Pilot. Subsequently, Col Gordon served in a variety of high-profile flight test assignments across the Air Force, including as F-22 Commander and Director of Operations (DO) at the 411th Flight Test Squadron and as Vice Commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base. Col Gordon is a Presidential Fellow, Harvard Business School Alumnus, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Fellow, MIT Fellow, and holds a doctorate from the US Air Force’s School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Col Gordon currently serves as the commander of Arnold Engineering Development Complex headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base in beautiful Tullahoma, Tennessee. Col Gordon is a Command Pilot who has logged more than 3000 hours in over 70 different aircraft types including in the F-22A, F-15C/E, A-10A/A+/C, BD-700 (E-11 BACN), and the F-16A/C.
Thank you for taking the time to listen. In the future, I plan to continue to share similar interviews with both current and retired military aviators. If you have a question or a suggestion for a future interview, please leave it as a comment below. “Safe on Deck” episode thirty-eight, with Col Randel “Laz” Gordon. Enjoy!
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** The views and opinions presented on “Safe on Deck” are my own and those of my guests and do not represent the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or its components. **
19 ноя 2023
