JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pilots in the U.S. Navy are some of the best pilots in the world. In this week's Stories of Service, First Coast News meets a lieutenant who makes sure that the Navy's pilots remain the best.
As she gets ready for a day of training, Lt. Cassie Smith, callsign "Dory," remembers her first time flying a helicopter.
"It was definitely a wild experience," said Smith. "The first time you fly a helicopter, it's really all about learning how to hover, so you're all over the place."
After eight years in the Navy, Smith is now a pilot and instructor with plenty of wisdom to impart on her trainees.
"My first deployment was on a small ship and we flew vampire ops, which is 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.," Smith told First Coast News. "So, all of my flights were at night and it was in the Arabian Sea, so the sea state was pretty typically rocky. The actual platform of the ship is moving side-to-side and forward and back as you're actually trying to land, which can be challenging, especially at night when the sea is high."
Smith said her trainees already know how to fly, but she takes their knowledge to the next level.
"When they get here, it's about learning to fly their fleet aircraft, learning how to implement the systems in our aircraft and it's about integrating into the fleet and becoming a division officer," said Smith, who plans to make the Navy her career. "You get to come here and fly and do what I love every day. And they're paying me to do it, so why not do it for as long as I can?"
Smith said that she was given "Dory" as a callsign as a nod to the character from the movie, 'Finding Nemo' because she's always positive with a really good attitude, but was for a time, a little forgetful.
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