Naval aviator flew anti-submarine warfare jets

Jan. 8—Today's veteran: Glenn Cook, 67

Born: Fort Monroe, Va.

Residence: Jekyll Island

Service: Navy, 7 years active duty, 3 years Navy Reserve

Duties: Naval aviator

Rank: Lieutenant commander

Recognitions: Navy Commendation Medal; Navy Expeditionary Medal; Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal; Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (with 2 stars) and Battle "E" commendation.

Duty stations: NAS Pensacola, Fla.; NAS Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Chase Field, Texas; NAS North Island Coronado, Cal.; NAS Cecil Field, Fla.; and aboard the USS Lexington and USS Eisenhower

His story: Glenn Cook was in college with plans on medical school when a Marine Corps recruiter visited his campus.

The recruiter talked about careers in aviation, which Cook said made him reconsider plans in the medical field.

"I had never really thought about flying," he said.

He tested well on placement tests, but the recruiter wanted his to start training at Marine Corps Base Quantico that summer, earlier than he was willing to begin.

Cook said he was later approached by a Navy recruiter who told him his test scores qualified him for training as a naval aviator. He enlisted and was sent to officer training school for three months before his training on twin engine jets used in anti-submarine warfare.

Cook had never flown before his training and quickly learned why Navy aviators are considered the military's best trained pilots.

Instead of landing on a long runway, his landing strip was on the hull of an aircraft carrier, where there is no margin for error. He had 204 takeoffs and landings aboard carriers, sometimes in seas in the North Atlantic where high waves had the ship rocking and swaying.

"The takeoff is like being shot out of a slingshot; it's very violent," he said. "The landing is like a controlled crash."

Despite more than 200 successful takeoffs and landings, Cook said he understood the risks and was never comfortable landing on carriers.

His first permanent duty station was at Cecil Field, Florida, where his squadron was attached to the carrier USS Eisenhower.

His first deployment was a Mediterranean cruise. He said it was an uneventful deployment with port calls in Morocco, Italy, Greece, Israel and other counties.

During the deployment, Cook said there were lots of Soviet Union vessels, including submarines, in the area.

"We knew where all the submarines were," he said.

The second Mediterranean cruise in 1983 started with the same expectations.

"It looked like another cruise with good port calls," he said.

Then Muammar Qadhafi, the dictator of Libya, threatened to turn the Gulf of Sidra into a "red gulf of blood." He threatened to invade Chad and flew Russian MIGs toward the Eisenhower, which had been deployed to the area, but the MIGs were turned back.

The ship was then deployed to the coast of Beiruit, Lebannon to support the bombing to the war-torn area.

His mission was to fly along the coast gathering intelligence. Another part of the jobs was "trolling for MIGs," even though his jets were equipped with minimal defenses. In fact, the strength of his jets were their maneuverability.

"We have no defense mechanism other than to spiral down low to the ground because we were so agile," he said.

He was also part of the evacuation of Marines after a vehicle loaded with explosives crashed into a barracks killing nearly 300 troops.

While he never had to engage with enemy aircraft, Cook said there were tense moments landing in the North Atlantic. One time he had to fly though a violent squall to reach his carrier and questioned if he'd make it after his jet lost more than 5,000 feet of altitude before he regained control.

Luckily, he dropped below the storm and saw his carrier in calmer weather conditions waiting for his return.

After serving seven years, Cook said he wanted a career change and asked to go to graduate school to be trained to work in an embassy. He was told the Navy had invested too much in training and refused his request, so Cook decided to leave active duty.

He served three more years in the Navy Reserve before leaving military service to pursue a law degree.

"I had a great time in the Navy," he said. "I wish I would have stayed in the reserves."'

Cook said he has carried lessons learned in the Navy with him since he left the service.

"The military teaches you to give back," he said. "It made me a completely new person. It gave me a purpose, a sense of direction."