Surf's up Published April 30, 2013 By Lt. Col. Daniel Garoutte 33rd Flying Training Squadron commander VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Commanding a pilot training squadron affords me many opportunities. Every six weeks I get the chance to welcome a new Joint Primary Pilot Training class to the flight line. I take the opportunity to set the tone for training and provide my expectations. Success in pilot training is based on effort and attitude. It is pretty simple, if students show up prepared and have a good attitude, my instructor pilots will do everything in their power to ensure they succeed. The year student pilots spend here is characterized by many, as more difficult than all four years of college combined, due to the "fire hose" of information and performance expectations. At the end of the welcome brief, I ask the students if any of them have ever surfed. Occasionally, one or two brave souls will raise their hands. I quickly admit I have never surfed. However, I can appreciate the difficulty and skill involved in successfully riding the board to shore. I surmise a key to success is the ability to identify the perfect wave. Once the surfer has picked their wave, they start paddling vigorously at precisely the right time to get enough speed to catch it. Timing and effort are vital in the quest to ride the wave to shore. When done perfectly, any spectator can see the surfers are having the time of their lives on the way in. I correlate surfing with students' quest to becoming professional military aviators. JPPT is the student pilot's perfect wave -- a once in a lifetime opportunity. Everything they have done previously doesn't matter unless they are willing to fully commit to the program and put in the effort. They will experience long hours, tons of general knowledge to include aircraft systems, weather, emergency procedures and more during their year of training here. It is imperative to stay ahead of the power curve or they will miss the wave. On the contrary, if they don't paddle hard enough they'll be left floating. They will end up expending more energy swimming back instead of riding the wave. They will be tired, weary and not enjoy their time here whatsoever. This lesson can be applied to many situations in the ocean of life. Determination, commitment and excellence are the keys to an individual's ability to achieve his goals. As quoted in the movie "Surf's Up," "...never give up. Find a way 'cause that's what winners do! Winners don't run into a snag, throw their hands up in the air and call it quits. Winners find a way to make it work regardless. Injury, failure, disappointment, criticism and anything else that can come up is just a speed bump on the highway of success. The road never ends and the winner never stops!" So surf's up, it is time to start paddling!