35,000th helicopter aviator winged

NAVAL AIR STATION WHITING FIELD, Fla. – Training Air Wing (TRAWING) 5 celebrated a milestone in naval aviation when the 35,000th rotary wing student naval aviator walked across the stage at Naval Air Station Whiting Field to receive his "Wings of Gold" Nov. 22. Lt. j.g. Robert Woods, a native of Northlake, Ill., walked off the stage at the Lassen Auditorium as the Navy’s newest helicopter pilot. He joined 22 other students in achieving the designation. Woods will go on to fly the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter with the Airwolves of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Forty in Jacksonville, Fla. TRAWING 5 conducts primary flight training and advanced rotary training at NAS Whiting Field. The wing flew 129,937 hours in fiscal year 2019, which accounts for 46 percent of all of Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) hours and 15 percent of all United States Navy flight hours. It is responsible for training all Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard helicopter pilots and winged 457 rotary wing aviators in fiscal year 2019.(Source: Naval Air Station Whiting Field, 11/22/19)