English
The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
by Beth Bailey and Mitch Parmentier
A podcast devoted to the history of aviation, told by the aviators who were in the cockpit. Lifting the curtain on fighter pilot culture, life in the squadron, important moments in Naval history, and the legendary aviators whose stories live on long after they departed for the great O-Club in the sky.
Episodes
Col. Kim 'KC' Campbell - Part 2 - Pentagon, Air Force Academy - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
3 Nov 2026 · 1 h 11
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Col. Kim 'Killer Chick' Campbell.Kim talks about the deployments and Pentagon tour that followed her 2003 Iraq tour, and about the challenges of balancing parenthood as she and her husband rose through the Air…
Col. Kim 'KC' Campbell - Part 1 - A-10 and Iraq DFC - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
27 Oct 2026 · 1 h 24
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Col. Kim 'Killer Chick' Campbell.Kim talks about how the Challenger disaster motivated her to join the USAF, her drive to make it to the U.S. Air Force Academy, and training on the A-10. We also talk about the…
Task Force 20's 2003 Iraq Operations - Part 2 - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
20 Oct 2026 · 1 h 15
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guests are four outstanding veterans who took part in Task Force 20, the set of daring missions that comprised the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. Keith 'Grumpy' Kimberly, Michael 'Tung' Peterson, and Jim 'Puck' Howe were among the U.S.…
Task Force 20's 2003 Iraq Operations - Part I - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
13 Oct 2026 · 1 h 25
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guests are four outstanding veterans who took part in Task Force 20, the set of daring missions that comprised the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. Keith 'Grumpy' Kimberly, Michael 'Tung' Peterson, and Jim 'Puck' Howe were among the U.S.…
Lt. Gen. John Bradley - Part 3 - The F-16, Pentagon years - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
6 Oct 2026 · 1 h 30
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John 'Coach' Bradley.In the third and final episode about his military career, John talks about his transition to the F-16, the impact of 9/11 on his career, the development of his Afghanistan…
Lt. Gen. John Bradley - Part 2 - From A-37 to A-10 to F-4 - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
29 Sept 2026 · 1 h 12
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John 'Coach' Bradley.In the second episode about his military career, John talks about his T-38 training years and the wide expanse of aircraft he flew in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, including the…
Lt. Gen. John Bradley - Part 1 - Vietnam in the A-37 - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
22 Sept 2026 · 1 h 10
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John 'Coach' Bradley.In the first episode about his military career, John talks about the experience of losing his brother during a flying accident, and his own journey into aviation, including his…
Lt. Col. Mark Hasara - Part 5 - Starting Tanker Weapons School - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
15 Sept 2026 · 1 h 14
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the fifth and final episode about his military career, Sluggo talks about standing up the Tanker Weapons School, and how the school took off after an alarming setback early in…
Lt. Col. Mark Hasara - Part 4 - Desert Storm - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
8 Sept 2026 · 1 h 19
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the fourth episode about his military career, Sluggo talks in detail about operating during Desert Storm in Iraq, including supporting the F-117 strikes on Baghdad. He also…
Lt. Col. Mark Hasara - Part 3 - Preparing for Nuclear War - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
1 Sept 2026 · 1 h 23
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the third episode about his military career, Sluggo talks in detail about operating during the Cold War to fuel possible nuclear missions.About 'Sluggo'Retired Air Force…
Lt. Col. Mark Hasara - Part 2 - Tanker Ops for New Wars - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
25 Aug 2026 · 55 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the second episode about his military career, Sluggo talks about how systems had to be revised to suit the warfighting of Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror. About…
Lt. Col. Mark Hasara - Part 1 - Becoming a KC-135 Pilot - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
18 Aug 2026 · 1 h 14
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark 'Sluggo' Hasara. In the first episode about his military career, Sluggo talks about training to be a KC-135 pilot and training other tanker pilots how to work with the U.S. Navy and his work…
CDR Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt - Part 3 - Adversary Squadron - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
11 Aug 2026 · 1 h 09
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Commander Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt. In the third and final episode about his military career, Ribit takes us through his time in the adversary squadron flying all manner of fighters, his final tour on the Ike, and transitioning…
CDR Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt - Part 2 - Flying the Big Fighter - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
4 Aug 2026 · 39 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Commander Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt. In the second episode about his military career, Ribit takes us through his time in the F-14 Tomcat, flying in airshows, making sure he had great RIOs, and never, ever going low (except that…
CDR Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt - Part 1 - F-8 Crusader to USAF exchange tour - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
28 Jul 2026 · 41 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Commander Jerry 'Ribit' Merritt. In the first episode about his military career, Ribit takes us through his time as a pilot in the F-8 Crusader during the Vietnam War before discussing a USAF exchange tour and his transition…
LCDR Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber - Part 5 - Fighter Culture - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
21 Jul 2026 · 1 h 01
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lieutenant Commander Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber. In the fifth and final episode about his military career, Hooter talks about his transition into the civilian world and the fighter culture that is so much a part of aviation. Does…
LCDR Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber - Part 4 - F-14 Tomcat years - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
14 Jul 2026 · 44 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lieutenant Commander Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber. In the fourth episode about his military career, Hooter tells stories about his time in the F-14 Tomcat. About 'Hooter'Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber commissioned from AOCS and received…
LCDR Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber - Part 3 - F-4 to TA-4J to Tomcat - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
7 Jul 2026 · 47 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lieutenant Commander Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber. In the third episode about Hooter's military career, we discuss his transition to being an instructor pilot in the TA-4J after flying the F-4 Phantom. We also cover his later…
LCDR Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber - Part 2 - Cold War in the Phantom - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
30 Jun 2026 · 45 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lieutenant Commander Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber. In the second episode about Hooter's military career, we discuss flying the F-4 Phantom during the Cold War, when trawlers followed the boat and Alert 5s were the norm, despite the…
LCDR Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber - Part 1 - Flying the Phantom - The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living
23 Jun 2026 · 41 min
Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Lieutenant Commander Jon 'Hooter' Schreiber. In the first episode about Hooter's military career, we discuss his desire to become an astronaut, and the "other worldly" experience of first flying the Phantom. About 'Hooter'…