MILTON — Training Squadron Three at Naval Air Station Whiting Field recently earned recognition as the top primary training squadron in the Navy for fiscal year 2016.
The Chief of Naval Air Training announced the winners of the CDR Theodore G. Ellyson Aviator Production Excellence Awards, honoring the top training squadrons that exhibit the greatest production and efficiency in producing aviators for the nation’s defense.
VT-3 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Christopher Biggs attributes the squadron’s success to the professionalism of the “Red Knight” team.
“The CDR Theodore Ellyson Award is important to me personally because it provides recognition for the work my instructor pilots and staff diligently put in every day,” Briggs said. “It simply is not possible to express how proud I am of the entire team’s commitment to ensuring each training evolution is a safe, quality opportunity to shape the future of Naval Aviation.”
The award recognizes a unit’s ability to produce the right number of pilots, on schedule, and within Chief of Naval Operations approved syllabus time.
“Well done to all the winning squadrons for their outstanding achievement in aviator production excellence,” Chief of Naval Air Training Rear Admiral Dell Bull said. “Fly, Fight, Lead!”
Flying the Hawker Beechcraft T-6B Texan II, the VT-3 “Red Knights” continue to provide the highest-quality training to student Naval aviators and pilots from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and several allied nations.
Current instruction includes an emphasis on day and night piloting familiarization, precision aerobatics, basic and radio instruments, and formation flying skills.
VT-3’s current commission at NAS Whiting Field dates back to May 1, 1960.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 'Well done'