“If You Ever Want To Get Better, Take Your Ego Out Of The Game”: A Non-Standard Career As A Tomcat RIO And Special Operations Air And Fires Officer

John J. Patterson was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and was raised in central Pennsylvania. His father was a salesman for construction aerial platforms (bucket lifts), and his mother was a middle school secretary. His family had deep military roots, including ancestors who served in the Union Army, a grandfather who was a WWII combat engineer officer, and a great grandfather who graduated from the Naval Academy and served during World War I. Some of JJ’s earliest relatives in America arrived in what is now Pennsylvania as early as the 1650s, and settled in the Carlisle area as early as the mid-1700s. From an early age, JJ was drawn to serving the nation and becoming an aviator. JJ entered the Naval Academy in the summer of 1987 with a Class that saw a massive spike in applicants due to the release of the 1986 film Top Gun. He had wanted to attend the Air Force Academy but could not get a waiver for poor eyesight that started going bad in high school, and he focused on getting into the Naval Academy with the goal of becoming a Naval Flight Officer. His most vivid memory of I-Day (Induction Day) at Annapolis is getting a haircut and saying goodbye to his parents after picking up his gear. He majored in English with a minor in French (winning the Harry E. Ward Medal for French scholarship), noting that only 30% of a Class can major in humanities. He was a member of the varsity pistol team and recalls beating Army twice. He enjoyed his time at the Naval Academy, appreciating the structure and the variety of classes. He felt that learning time management, prioritization, and how to function under pressure were the most important lessons he learned at the Academy. He recalls a specific event in December one year at Annapolis, when, as he left Nimitz Library, he could hear the “yards… the sheets, the halyards, banging against the aluminum masts of the yawls down in the yawl basin;” he looked at the stars and had a “feeling of possibility,” and gratitude for the opportunities at the Naval Academy. With poor eyesight, becoming a pilot was out of the question, so instead he opted to become a Naval Flight Officer (NFO), specifically training as a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) in the F-14 Tomcat. Upon graduation, he reported to Pensacola, Florida, for two years for training. He was number one in primary and was able to select jets vs props. He wanted to be assigned to the A-6 because he liked the strike mission and was pleased when the F-14 Tomcat picked up that role as the A-6 was retired. In late April of 1993, he earned his wings, and as a Naval Flight Officer, JJ became known as “Troll” due to his stature combined with his serious and driven nature. From 1993 to 1994, he trained at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia at the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS). He selected VFA-41, the Black Aces, due to their upcoming train-up and deployment schedule. He embarked on the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) for a summer Med cruise in 1995, participating in Operation Deny Flight and Operation Deliberate Force over Bosnia, executing tactical air reconnaissance (TARPS – Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System), and deploying decoys to stimulate Serbian air defenses. This was his first combat experience. After that deployment, he attended the Marine Top Gun school (Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, MAWTS-1), which opened to Tomcat RIOs when that aircraft picked up the strike mission. He remembers the intense training program to become qualified as a Forward Air Controller (Airborne) FAC(A), and a TAC-P (Tactical Air Control Party), learning how to control aircraft from both the ground and the air. He notes that generally only two or three crews per squadron are trained in these roles. He also attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) prior to reporting to the Strike Weapons and Tactics School Atlantic (SWATSLANT) at NAS Oceana as a Tomcat Weapons Instructor. Looking back at his experience at TOPGUN, he notes that self-awareness and learning to be your own best critic was the most important take-away from that school. Later he adopted the attitude that “you can deviate [from the TOPGUN tactical recommendation] but you had better have done your homework.” He was stationed at NAS Oceana assigned to VFA-11, the Red Rippers, as a Squadron Training Officer, preparing for a cruise on Kennedy on September 11, 2001. He remembers watching the planes hit the towers, and he tossed his body armor into his kit bag, kissed his wife and daughter, and headed towards the gate at Oceana. With the bases on lockdown, he struggled to gain entrance, arguing, “I’m part of the response, I need to get to my airplane.” On that day, the dust-covered NORAD red phone (a Cold War relic) rang. The air crews next had to find live missiles and ammunition and get airborne to execute Operation Noble Eagle. He describes flying on September 11th as “eerie” because with all civilian aviation grounded, there was no chatter on the radio. He remembers “delousing” (intercepting) inbound international aircraft to get them on the ground. The most poignant aspect of the response that day was discussing the possibility of having to shoot down an American aircraft, and how they would do that. Following September 11th, he deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) on USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) at a time when there was substantial saber-rattling between India and Pakistan. He describes the process of flying over Afghanistan early in the war, before air bases in Afghanistan were able to support operations and naval carrier-based aircraft were the answer. Flying from carriers required both Pakistani overflight and Air Force in-flight refueling to enable the long (five to six hour) sorties necessary to support ground operations in Afghanistan with a 30 to 45 minute close air support availability window. He recalls the introduction of the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) for the Tomcat and having to learn how to operate a new weapon system. During the Battle of Takur Ghar, Troll was on a rotating assignment at the CAOC (Combined Air Operations Center) at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia as the Naval liaison, planning sorties 12 to 36 hours out. He recalls watching the UAV footage during the battle. His personal opinion was that FAC(A)s could have helped bring order from chaos during that fight. Next, he was assigned to VFA-31, the Tomcatters, which was a west coast squadron with a “different vibe” to it. He describes it as “a great squadron,” and he generally flew with Mark Burgess (“Crunchy”) “almost always [on] a FAC mission.” During that deployment, on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in 2003, he was engaged in intense close air support (CAS) and strike missions. Troll describes the “carrier deck cycle,” which drives the timeline for aviation operations, but notes that FAC(A)s had priority for landing as well as for aerial refueling. He describes his first mission over eastern Iraq, targeting a tank regiment on March 21, 2003. While efforts were underway at the strategic level to get the majority of the Iraqi Army to surrender, at the tactical level four Tomcats were going to illustrate why surrender was the best option. His description of the poor weather, flying through a “sucker hole” in the clouds, and the low ceiling demonstrates the deadly proficiency of the naval aviators he flew with. He recalls spending a night in Kuwait when an unanticipated Army ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) launch looked like a SAM launch, spooking the Air Force refuelers, causing all the airborne assets that did not have enough fuel to return to their home strips to land at Al Jaber Air Base. Troll remembers that “every platform in the US inventory” was on the ground, and they had to function as their own ground crew, putting safeties on all of their weapons. It ended up being a mini Tomcat reunion with crews from other squadrons meeting on the tarmac. Up to this point in his career, Troll played a foundational role in adapting the F-14 Tomcat from a pure air-to-air fighter into a sophisticated strike, close air support, and Forward Air Controller – Airborne (FAC-A) platform. Critical to this was establishing a pipeline where Navy crews first went through ground school to become Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) before completing the aviation-specific syllabus. This ensured aviators deeply understood ground maneuvers and the strict safety parameters required when dropping live ordnance near friendly forces. After flying in OIF 1, his career entered a different phase. He had been assigned to a new squadron, and understood that his new commander had already picked his favorites for the choice career-enhancing jobs, so when the Navy SEALs came calling looking for an aviation officer, Troll jumped at the chance to join the Special Operations Task Force in Baghdad, working for Commander Bill Wilson and SEAL Team One as an Air and Fires Officer starting in July 2004. Describing his first High Value Target mission with Special Operations, he notes that he “could only see 50 yards,” and he had to rely on “airborne eyes” from the jets flying above while he directed close air support. He recalls “how little situational awareness you have on the ground,” and the smells. In 2005, he was assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) working on the EAUS (Expeditionary Unmanned Aerial System) project, developing organic drones for the SEALs. When questions arose as to who would fly these drones, he established a training pipeline using out-of-work enlisted Navy Meteorologists, teaching them to fly remote-control aircraft before transitioning them to operational drone platforms. As a Fires Officer, he conducted multiple combat rotations in theater, coordinating advanced indirect fires, HIMARS, and strike packages. Following years of heavy deployments, he chose to attend the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, (Class of 2010) to secure geographic stability for his family close to grandparents. After graduating, he was retained as an instructor for an additional six years in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, where he authored a course on American Revolution campaign analysis. He retired from active duty as a Commander in 2016. He spent an additional year as a Department of the Army civilian before transitioning to a stay-at-home father role to support his wife’s career. Describing his “non-standard” career, he notes that serving with Special Operations was very valuable and was like “living a Tom Clancy novel.” Reflecting on the Naval Academy, he states, “I loved it,” and for the intellectually curious, “it was a great education.”