Blue Angels pilots, support staff are tight-knit family

U S Navy Blue Angels plane crash killed Pilot

Melissa Nelson Gabriel, mnelsongab@pnj.com 5:58 a.m. CDT June 3, 2016

Lt. Matt Suyderhoud shakes hands with a crew member.(Photo: Special to the News Journal)

Listening to Blue Angels flight surgeon Joe Schwartztalk recently about the elite demonstration team, something became instantly clear the men and womenserving with the Blue Angels are more than co-workers, they are a tight-knit family.

I interviewed Dr. Schwartz and pilots Matt Suyderhoud and Andy Talbott at the Blue Angels hangar on Pensacola Naval Air Station earlier this month for a story about the intense physical demands of Blue Angels" flying.

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Melissa Nelson Gabriel(Photo: PNJ)

I spent a little over an hour talking withSuyderhoud, Talbott and Schwartz andI went away impressed. Impressed by their dedication, impressed by their skill and impressed by their willingness to sacrifice so much of their lives for the protection of others. Yes, Suyderhoud and Talbott are hot-shot, elite fighter jet pilots -they look like movie actors and are worshiped as much as any Hollywood heartthrob. They are also real peoplewho are loved by their families, friends and coworkers.

Suyderhoud and Talbott told me a lot about how it feels to fly the F/A-18 Hornets in high-G maneuvers, what it is like to get used to Blue Angel flying after years of flying off aircraft carriers as part of the Navy fleet and what they do to stay in the top physical and mental condition required to be on the team. They all referenced the inherent dangers of Blue Angels flying. The also referenced how close they are with other officers and the support staff.

Schwartz was a little more personal. Heis the primary care provider for the pilots and all of the Blue Angels staff, a total of 130 people. Heunderstands the stress the entire team is under, their constant pursuit of perfection and the toll endless trips away from home takes on the team members and their families.

Having the right team dynamic is crucial to a successful season, he said. That"swhy all of the officers have equal votes in deciding which candidates they will invite to be on the team.

Everyone who has the skills to apply to be a part of the team is very good at the job, it often comes down to personality, he said.

"The most important concern is, because of the high-operations tempo, because we are on the road with each other and hanging out 300 days a year, how do we get along," he said. "That translates into how do the people in this room who are going to fly 18inches apart get along, can they trust each other. That is of primary importance."

Walk the hallways of the Blue Angels hangar, and you notice more than military formality. It is a fun workplace with a serious mission. Everyone knows everyone by first name. They joke with each other and share stories about their families.

150114-N-SN160-005 (Jan. 14, 2015) Left Wing Pilot, Lt. Andy Talbott, U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, flies over Shadetree Range, Calif., during a training sortie. The Blue Angels are conducting winter training where pilots must complete 120 practice flights before kicking off the 2015 air show season at Naval Air Facility El Centro March 14. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Lindsey/Released)(Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Lindsey/ Blue Angels public affairs)

Schwartz flies once a month in the backseat of one of the jets becauseit is important for him to understand what the pilots go through. He also worksout with the pilots in the gym to help them prepare for air shows and just to see how they are doing.

"The most unique thing about this place is that people want to be here, they want to go to work every day here," he said.

But Schwartz said they put intense pressure on themselves.

"The product is perfection that we know we will never reach," he said.

Walk the hallways of the Blue Angels" hangar and you see what drives that pursuit a 70-year legacy of sharing elite Naval aviation with the world. Photographs of teams dating back to the 1940s line the walls.

Current and former pilots often talkabout the importance of preserving that legacy, they don"t want to let down any of the men who came before them.

The team has incredibly tough road ahead dealing with the aftermath of Thursday"s deadly crash,I believeit is this legacy that will push them forward.

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The Blue Angels perform for the crowd Saturday during the Blue Angles Homecoming Show at Naval Air station Pensacola.(Photo: John Blackie/jblackie@pnj.com)

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Source: http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/2016/06/02/blue-angels-pilots-support-staff-tight-knit-family/85322524/