Courage to Execute: What elite U.S. military units can teach business about leadership and team performance

Chapter 5

Battle Rhythm: On Track, On Target, and On Time

During Vietnam, the ratio of U.S.-to-enemy aircraft downed fell precipitously and the military recognized an execution gap. They hypothesized that their pilots needed better instruction in aerial combat. The navy developed its TOPGUN aviation training program at Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar (now Marine Corps Air Station Miramar) outside San Diego and the air force enhanced its Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The school at Nellis became known as the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, as the air force aimed to train pilots who could in turn train others. Now simply called the Weapons Instructor Course, the program has taught air force pilots air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics—and equipped its graduates to bring the lessons home to their squadrons. Graduates are called instructors or patch-wearers, and are highly-regarded. Jim Demarest finished the four-month-long program first in his class.

“We'd have 30 or 32 rides during the course,” Demarest explained, “and each one lasted about an hour. But the preparation and briefing beforehand could take up to four hours, and the debrief after could go even longer, so you were looking at some long days. When you only have an hour aloft in the aircraft, the briefing is one of the most critical parts of the mission.”¹

Before each hop, an instructor plans the entire flight profile. He or she plans the taxi and takeoff, including which runway they will use ...