StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Pilots:
Only commissioned officers in the starfighter force actually fly fighters. Non-commissioned personnel are engaged in starfighter support activity. The highest officers are not often involved in combat; they will be involved in overall strategy and command.

The epitome of officer training is the Imperial Naval Academy. Its academic standards are stringent and its training methods are the most advanced of their kind. The Academy system is designed to instill loyalty, build discipline, and develop team interdependence. The greatest of naval commanders and fighter pilots have come from the Academy. Graduation from it is almost essential for promotion to the very highest echelons of naval command.

The highest aspiration of most young naval officers is to become a starfighter pilot. It is the single most dangerous, demanding, and prestigious job in the Imperial Navy. Only officers who graduate in the top five percent of their class qualify for flight training. The remaining top third of their class qualifies for flight-related specialties such as astrogation, weapons systems, and other support skills. Because of the tough entrance requirements and extensive training offered at the Imperial Naval Academy, all officers in the top third of the Academy qualify for flight.

Before instruction is half over, pilots begin to fly training missions under actual combat conditions. This trial by combat policy swiftly adapts the trainee to combat, culling those who are unfit and teaching the rest things they could never learn under peaceful training conditions. By the time a pilot is certified for combat, he flies missions as regularly as other starfighter pilots. The new pilots are then transfered to the wing which is their permanent duty station.