Bryan: 00:00

Hey, everybody. Just a quick note before we start the show. We recorded this episode about a year ago. So while it's still a great chat, some parts of it might be a little out of date. With that being said, please enjoy the show.

Bryan: 00:41

Alright. We're ready for departure here at the Pilot Project Podcast, the best source for stories and advice from the pilots of the RCAF. I'm your host, Brian Morrison. With me today is Mike Behring. Mike, welcome to the show, and thanks so much for being here.

Mike: 00:53

Thank you. Listen to a few episodes, and I'm happy to be chatting.

Bryan: 00:56

Cool. So before we get started, let's go over Mike's bio. Mike joined the CAF in 2006 under the regular officer training program, studying aerospace engineering at Carleton University. Mike graduated flight training in 2013 and was posted to 4 36 squadron on the c one thirty j Super Hercules, flying many air mobility missions and exercises around the world. In 2018, Mike was posted to 4 26 squadron as an operational training unit instructor on the Hercules, teaching students from various backgrounds how to fly in a tactical environment and eventually holding the position of training officer.

Bryan: 01:29

After applying to the Aerospace Engineering and Test Establishment or AT and participating in the selection process, Mike was posted to AT during the summer of 2022 and is currently attending test pilot school at the International Test Pilot School or ITPS in London, Ontario. So, yeah, again, man, congratulations for getting into that program. That's huge and super cool to see you doing that.

Mike: 01:50

Thank you. Yeah. It's, something that's interested me for quite a while, so I'm, very excited to be taking that next step forward.

Bryan: 01:57

So, before we jump straight into your Christmas story, where did aviation start for you?

Mike: 02:03

So I'm sure this is a common response, but, aviation has always been an interest for me from a very young age. 12 years old, I joined the air cadet program, did my glider and private pilot's license through that, and developed an interest in the Canadian forces, and also met a, much younger Brian Morrison.

Bryan: 02:22

Yeah. That's right. I think we met when I was on my IFR recertification. Right? And you were on your wing scores?

Mike: 02:29

Something like that. Yeah.

Bryan: 02:31

So we'll go right into your story about deploying at Christmas. First of all, can you tell me where you were deploying?

Mike: 02:39

I was deploying to Kuwait as part of Op Impact. Okay.

Bryan: 02:43

And how did you find out that you would be deploying during the holidays?

Mike: 02:47

Well, I recently upgraded to aircraft commander and was told that my crew and I would be deploying on an exercise as a workup to op impact deployment. As things usually work out, we weren't given hard timelines, but, about a month or so prior found out that it would be over the holidays.

Bryan: 03:06

Yeah. That's tough. How did you feel when you found out that you would be deploying for the holidays?

Mike: 03:12

My initial reaction was, hey. This means I don't get to see the summer in the desert, which, was an initial win because it gets to the mid fifties Celsius. Once it actually had set in that I'd be missing Christmas, I was a little disappointed, but, more overwhelmed with the prospect of, the job at hand. Definitely not ideal, but, that's the job we sign up for.

Bryan: 03:36

Yeah. Absolutely. And I'd I'd been for what it's worth, I've been to the desert in both the summer and the winter, and they definitely both have their unique challenges. I remember when I went to the desert the first time, it was from October to February, and I did not know how cold it got there. So I had one pair of jeans with me and one thin sweater, and the rest was shorts and t shirts.

Bryan: 03:58

And, I froze.

Mike: 04:00

Yeah. It's surprising in, the northern area where we were operating. They got a dusting of snow.

Bryan: 04:07

Oh, wow. Really? Yeah. So you found out this year that you'd be deploying for Christmas. How would you normally have spent Christmas?

Mike: 04:16

Normally, being a military member, it's very normal to be away from home for a lot of the year. But Christmas time is always that one time where you travel back home and catch up with family and friends. So, normally, my wife and I would have traveled, back to where our families are, done the typical Christmas dinner, reach out to friends. Yeah. For military families, Christmas tends to be a particularly important time because it might be the only time of year you see some of those people.

Bryan: 04:46

Yeah. For sure. Did you guys have any traditions that you were looking forward to for the holidays?

Mike: 04:52

Absolutely. I mean, kinda your typical turkey dinner sort of thing. My dad and I always cook steaks on Christmas Eve. So, I was disappointed to be missing out on that one.

Bryan: 05:03

Yeah. For sure. So what was your job during this deployment?

Mike: 05:09

So I was the aircraft commander of our crew, and this was part of the 436 squadron deployment to Kuwait in support of operation impact, which was, which is still ongoing. At the time, Canada was flying as part of the combined joint task force under the name operation inherent resolve. And my role as the aircraft commander was, that's the top position on the crew as you've discussed in the past. I was a relatively new aircraft commander at the time, so it was a fantastic learning experience and also a confidence builder. 436 was tasked with moving both Canadian and coalition personnel and cargo throughout the area.

Bryan: 05:53

Yeah. Right on. So that must have been a pretty crazy thing to be a fairly new aircraft commander and take on that responsibility. Were you nervous at all?

Mike: 06:02

Definitely. You know, it's a very intimidating role. You are personally responsible for the safety of your crew in a very challenging environment. But it's what we train for, and it's kinda one of those, hey. Follow your training, fall back on that, and, the rest of things will fall into place.

Bryan: 06:23

Yeah. For sure. And like you said, I like that. It it is what we train for. And, you know, what's the point?

Bryan: 06:29

If you're gonna do all that training, you gotta go out and do it. Right?

Mike: 06:32

Exactly.

Bryan: 06:34

So what did a normal day look like for you while you were deployed?

Mike: 06:38

Deployments tend to what's that expression? They tend to be like Groundhog Day. We typically fly about 2 out of every 3 days or 3 out of every 4 days. We'd get up as a crew, go get breakfast at the dining facility or defac, then we'd head to the ops trailer to start planning our day. Operations like this revolve around a document called the air tasking order, which comes out every 24 hours.

Mike: 07:05

So we take a look at that, figure out, where we're going, what we're moving, when it needs to be there. So we'd review that ATO, check the weather, and receive our intelligence briefing for the day. So, yeah, you settle into this pretty steady routine while deployed. You know, after doing that, we'd go to the aircraft, fly the mission, come back, have dinner, and go to the gym, all as one group as a crew. So you get pretty close with the guys.

Mike: 07:34

And then over time, the days tend to blur together. The defects of that, dining facility tends to have special meals throughout the week, like taco Tuesday, that sort of thing. We found ourselves by the end of deployment judging the passage of time by chicken and waffle nights. So we'd we'd think back and be like, oh, yeah. That mission happened 3 chicken waffle nights ago.

Mike: 07:54

So that's that's 3 Wednesdays back, that sort of thing. And, yeah, that's pretty much it. Get up the next day and do the whole thing again.

Bryan: 08:04

Yeah. I I thought the food was pretty decent over there.

Mike: 08:07

Yeah. I was very impressed with it. Definitely no complaints. Still the best carrot cake I've had.

Bryan: 08:13

Okay. That's funny you say that because the carrot cake was, like, the my big treat when I was over there. I would have a slice of it every Sunday. Absolutely. That was kinda like my, my way of, like, for core oh, yeah.

Bryan: 08:24

That's, you know, 2 carrot cakes ago kinda thing. Like Yep. You know what? When I was over there, I worked pretty hard at getting in shape, but the one treat I allowed myself was that carrot cake, and it was amazing. Like, I don't think I've ever had better back home or anything.

Mike: 08:38

I couldn't agree more. And, yeah, I know that you mentioned it. I think a lot of people do end up getting into a pretty strong fitness routine, and that's, definitely one thing I took away from my deployment. It's easy to do when you're able to focus like that and maintain a schedule.

Bryan: 08:52

Yeah. Absolutely. Like, it is the prime opportunity. Like, for anyone listening who eventually may deploy, what an opportunity that is to get in great shape. And it's so good for you mentally.

Bryan: 09:04

It helps you to pass the time. But it also just feels so good because you're in this place where you could you have that, like you said, that routine. And so every single day, you can consistently eat well, work out, get good sleep, and, you know, the results speak for themselves after a little while.

Mike: 09:21

Definitely.

Bryan: 09:22

So what was the hardest part of the job when you arrived in the Middle East?

Mike: 09:26

So when you arrive at the camp, you're entering a different world. We flew our aircraft over there. So the night prior, we were enjoying a nice dinner on a patio in Greece. And then we step off the plane. It's 35 degrees, and we're surrounded by sand and barbed wire.

Mike: 09:44

So it was a very stark contrast. But at the same time, it feels oddly familiar because you're seeing your squadron mates. You're seeing that Canadian flag there. So it was almost like seeing a Tim Hortons in another country. It's the same, just a little different.

Bryan: 09:59

Yeah.

Mike: 09:59

The hard part was adapting to the new procedures. As expected, there's a procedure for just about everything over there. There's a procedure for going to the dining facilities, for sending your mail, for opening and closing gates. Even the bathroom has a sign telling you how many times to flush. The most important procedures were those related to flying.

Mike: 10:22

And these were all secret documents, so we weren't able to study them ahead of time. Typically, for any big mission, you do whatever you can to be as prepared as you can. This is one thing we couldn't prepare ahead of time for. So as soon as we got there, we're basically went into the secure section of a trailer and presented with a massive stack of documents, and we just had to sit there and go through all of them. So we needed to absorb that information very quickly because the other aircrew there was at the end of their deployment, and they weren't able to leave until we were ready to go.

Mike: 10:59

So, yeah, adapting to all those new procedures quickly, and accurately was definitely a challenge.

Bryan: 11:06

So how did you guys overcome that challenge?

Mike: 11:09

Just working together as a group, tasking different people with, okay. You're gonna focus on this. I'm gonna focus on this. Then we're gonna get together in a couple hours and brief each other on what we know. Like a lot of things, it's just teamwork.

Bryan: 11:25

Yeah. That makes sense. I mean, it is so much to take on when you arrive. Same, idea when you go to an exercise. There's just so much paperwork to read through and, spins, special instructions, so much to to learn and absorb, except when you're on a deployment.

Bryan: 11:42

Like, now it's for real. So Absolutely.

Mike: 11:44

You know,

Bryan: 11:44

it's even more important for you to be familiar with all that stuff. Right? Yep. So how did you and your crewmates and fellow service members maintain morale and a sense of the holiday spirit while deployed?

Mike: 11:54

Yeah. That's a great question. Just the day to day stuff. You know, like any, you become a very tight knit group, when you're spending basically 16 hours a day with the same people. So everyone has their inside jokes.

Mike: 12:07

You know? On on the side of the plane, we put up an Uber logo because we're essentially the Uber drivers of the coalition. So you just find things to, to make each other laugh, and Christmas is a great opportunity for that. So we did what we could. We were actually tasked to fly on Christmas day itself.

Mike: 12:28

Of course, there's a strict headdress policy on the camp, but we decided to break with that and wear Santa hats to really make the most of things. On that particular day, we were tasked to fly to a new more scenic location. Our ops staff planned that for us as a bit of a treat and a bit of a change of pace. So, we flew up there. We put Garland in the back of the plane and everything to keep it a little more festive for our passengers as well.

Mike: 12:55

And the folks who are flying seem to really enjoy that as well. Maintenance seemed to draw the line at us painting the nose of the plane red. They, they didn't want us taking it that far.

Bryan: 13:06

That's great. That's such a great set of, things to do to keep everyone's morale up and sort of you know, when you're away, it is tough to be away at Christmas time, and to have that opportunity to get a little holiday spirit going is is really nice.

Mike: 13:20

For sure. I think we had Christmas music playing in the back as well, but it didn't last too long.

Bryan: 13:25

The, load master shut that down?

Mike: 13:28

I think, about 20 minutes of hearing Christmas carols. Yeah. Shut it down pretty fast.

Bryan: 13:36

Did any special traditions or activities take place during Christmas while you were deployed?

Mike: 13:42

Yeah. The chain of command there does a pretty good job of trying to keep morale up, from their position. So they held different events. They, I think they called it the 12 days of Christmas with something different every single day. The camp went down to, they reduced their hours.

Mike: 14:01

For us as aircrew, it was pretty much business as usual. So that's one of the big things to remember is that, you know, even it's even though it's the holidays, even though people are celebrating, that exact same job is still getting done.

Bryan: 14:15

Yeah.

Mike: 14:16

So even though there's a a nice turkey dinner at the end of your flight or something like that, there's there's still folks still get going out there, putting themselves in the danger, still doing their jobs. So after our particular flight, there was a big Christmas dinner at the DFAC. So this is the not just Canada, but all the countries attend the same dining facility. So the commanding officer of the camp and different, high ranking officers were also there serving everyone Turkey, which was pretty neat to see. The Canadian camp brought in a band.

Mike: 14:55

I do not remember the name of the band, but they actually flew some folks over to perform. They set up a stage and everything, which was pretty cool to see.

Bryan: 15:03

Oh, that's awesome.

Mike: 15:04

Yeah. It was, it was pretty neat. And, on the US side, so this is outside the Canadian camp. I briefly met Gary Sinise as well, who's, the actor who plays lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump.

Bryan: 15:18

Oh, cool.

Mike: 15:18

Yeah. So he's actually a big supporter of serving members and their families, and has a foundation and always reaches out to folks around the holidays. So overall, that's that stuff, it keeps things exciting. It definitely breaks with that monotony that, deployments can fall into. And, yeah, it keeps it interesting.

Mike: 15:44

But, yeah, like I said, at the end of the day, operations still continue. So it's at times difficult to still stay focused when, you know, somewhere in your mind, you just kinda wanna relax because it's the holidays.

Bryan: 15:56

Yeah. For sure. And it is like, it's always interesting because the the local commanders tend to do their best to bring in a bit of that holiday spirit. They try to give people some time off. But the truth is, like, the job never stops.

Bryan: 16:10

So the operational piece is always gonna keep going. I also think it's really cool. You'll see people do, what do they call it when they have those visitors? Team Canada?

Mike: 16:19

That's right. Yep. Team Canada. And, I forget exactly who is there, but, it's it's definitely a lot of fun.

Bryan: 16:28

I always think it's neat that those people are willing to do that because, first of all, it's, obviously, it's voluntary. In some situations, they're going to places that are less safe in the world. But the other thing is that they're also then especially if they do it regularly, like, they're missing Christmases with their family. So I always think that's kinda cool that they're willing to go do that to brighten the day of the troops that are deployed.

Mike: 16:49

Absolutely.

Bryan: 16:51

So what support did you receive from your unit or from home to help you cope with being away during the holiday season?

Mike: 16:58

Yeah. That's a great question. Of course, there's care packages. My wife sent 1. My parents sent 1.

Mike: 17:06

My in laws sent 1. And for anyone listening who are who might be unaware, sending care packages to deployed members is a free service provided by I think it's through the MFRC in Canada Post. But you can send a package halfway around the world, and it doesn't, cost you a dime to do that. And it's definitely appreciated on the receiving end to get those from home because as great as it is to be able to communicate with email and messages and things like that, actually receiving physical mail in today's day and age is a special thing. Yeah.

Mike: 17:43

Absolutely. I, received some of my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies, which is definitely a morale builder for myself and the crew, a miniature Christmas tree, that sort of thing, some Tim Hortons coffee. So that, definitely helped keep the morale up.

Bryan: 18:02

I totally agree with you about the care packages. When I was there, I still remember, like, sharing my buddy Kevin's, mom's baked goods. I remember a bunch of the gifts and cards and things that I received from home. It just meant so much. I had the cards taped up on my wall, in my room, and I taped some up in the common area so the crew could share them.

Bryan: 18:21

And, yeah, it does mean a lot to get those care packages from home.

Mike: 18:25

Absolutely. And, actually, on the topic of care packages, another thing we'd received, there was a special name for them. I forget exactly what it was, but every member of the camp received a care package filled with things like letters from school children and, items donated from communities, things like that. And even though the people sending them did not know exactly who would be receiving them, it's it's nice to know that that level of generosity does exist and that there are people thinking of deployed members. So all that to say, yes, when you write those letters, people do receive them, and they do appreciate them.

Bryan: 19:04

Yeah. I couldn't agree more about that. It was really heartwarming. You're away from home. You're really missing your family.

Bryan: 19:10

And to get that bit of appreciation from Canadians and to know that you're not forgotten is really meaningful.

Mike: 19:17

Definitely.

Bryan: 19:19

So one thing that's really tough when you're away or it can be tough is keeping in contact with your friends and family. How did you maintain your relationship with family and friends during the holiday season while you were deployed?

Mike: 19:30

Yeah. That's a a great question. And I think it's something that's definitely gotten easier throughout the years. Talking to some of the other guys at the squadron who deployed in the Afghanistan deployments years ago, those guys would have a few minutes of Wi Fi at a time. And that compared to the past when you could only send letters was amazing.

Bryan: 19:55

Mhmm.

Mike: 19:55

Now the camp, when I was there, had Wi Fi across the entire camp. So at any given moment, you could send messages, see pictures of, of your family back home. So it's very, very easy to stay in touch. The most difficult part becomes the time change.

Bryan: 20:12

Yeah.

Mike: 20:12

But at the same time, as connected as you are, in a way it enforces how remote you are. So you are out there. You're doing a job, and it's very easy to feel like the rest of the world, the rest of your life is on pause while you're you're out there, you're focusing on your routine. But then when you see those pictures of your friends and family out enjoying the snow, out enjoying the holidays, and you're you're out there focusing on your thing in a way it does make you feel isolated. So it sorta just enforces that, even though it might feel like the rest of the world is on hold, the world keeps turning whether or not you're there.

Mike: 20:56

And then on Christmas day itself, I mentioned that we're flying a mission on that particular day. After we landed, after we had our nice turkey dinner, I FaceTimed my family back home, and, it was a very surreal experience. You know, my wife, walked around with her phone so I could say hi to everybody. And for a few moments, I kinda felt like I was there. And then when that phone call ends, now you're sitting on a picnic table in the middle of the desert thinking about your mission the next day, and it, you kinda snap back to reality.

Bryan: 21:35

Yeah, man. That's so relatable. I'm sure that people who are listening who have deployed can just put themselves right in that situation. It is amazing to be able to basically at will talk to your family, talk to the people you love. But it's also really tough because, like you said, it really emphasizes to you, like, oh, wow.

Bryan: 21:57

People are like, life is still moving out there. People are still going about their days. And, you know, basically, life is moving on without me almost. So it it, like, highlights that feeling of being away and being far away sometimes.

Mike: 22:11

Absolutely. And, yeah, at the same time, it's, easy to get distracted on deployments, I think, by some of those feelings. And it's it's important in those situations to stay sharp, because even though it's supposed to be the holidays, it's supposed to be such a great time. The worst day of your life can still happen when it should be the best on a day like Christmas.

Bryan: 22:39

Yeah. Yeah. A 100%. I know when I was over there, you kinda have that thought in the back of your head, like, okay. You know, as it can sound a little dramatic, but I would think about, let's say, going home.

Bryan: 22:51

And then I'd think, woah, woah, you gotta make it to the day you go home. So you need to stay sharp and you need to stay focused on the job. And, like you said, the same thing when you start finding yourself distracted by feeling down about being away or something, it's a good thing to focus on is okay. Back to the mission.

Mike: 23:08

Absolutely.

Bryan: 23:10

Probably the opposite of what you'd wanna do in normal life. Like, normally, if you're feeling something that's, you know, upsetting or whatever, you need to deal with that and and, chase it down. But when you're away and you're doing life and death work, you need to just focus up, and you can deal with it later. What would you say was the best day you had well deployed during the holidays?

Mike: 23:33

Oddly enough, I'd say it was Christmas day, just because people were happy, people were excited. We showed up for our in briefing and ops on that day. And instead of coffee, we had hot chocolate. And, you know, none of that is is crazy different or anything like that. But on deployments, those little things really add up, and it makes it a lot of fun.

Bryan: 23:55

They really do. What was the hardest that you had while deployed during the holidays?

Mike: 24:01

I'd say specifically related to the holidays, there were a family, some family events or 2, some challenges that were happening with my family that I was not able to be there for support and help my family with. So that's definitely difficult. You feel a little helpless in a way Mhmm. When things like that happen because, you know, you might get a text from a friend or a family member who needs help with something, and you'd hop in your car and you go over there and help that person. But, when you're half a world away, that's not an option.

Mike: 24:39

Yeah. Besides that, not related to the holidays specifically, but of that particular deployment. I don't know if you wanna hear a random other story.

Bryan: 24:48

Yeah. Yeah. For sure.

Mike: 24:49

Okay. Yeah. So a particularly challenging day for my crew when we're over there was actually, one of our first missions when we're still, very excited, still kinda figuring things out at the first time. We we go to our first stop, and suddenly the plan completely changes. And on the Hercules, the plane is configured for very specific tasks, whether you're loading cargo on or loading passengers on.

Mike: 25:18

So we arrive at our first stop, and suddenly we have to change first stop, and suddenly we have to change everything in the back. So we do that. We spend several hours on the ground doing that. We wait for our new clearances and authorizations to, move this different stuff to a different place. And then, we get to the next location, and we're all we're all excited because, yeah, we got it done.

Mike: 25:41

And we're watching the clock because we have to finish the job within a certain number of hours before we need to stop for crew rest. And my FO and I are starting up the aircraft at, at our final location to return home, and then the aircraft shakes a bit. And he looks at me and says, oh, that was weird. And I said, oh, don't don't worry. That's just the propellers unfeathering because they do that sometimes, and it shakes the plane a bit.

Mike: 26:07

And then we call air traffic control to get our clearance to take off and go back home, and there's no answer. And then we try again, and then we try the operations office there. And the answer from them was basically, well, of course, there's no answer. You guys didn't just feel that huge earthquake we had. So it was not the props shaking the aircraft.

Mike: 26:31

There was actually a magnitude 5 point something earthquake that happened, pretty close by. So when we thought, you know, our day, we just solved all the problems for the day. That's it. We, we did our job. We get to go home now.

Mike: 26:45

No. It just got significantly more complex because now we had to figure out, you know, there's no there's no air traffic control. Nobody's talking to us. The cell towers are down. What are we gonna do?

Mike: 26:58

So we eventually worked through the problem, called the people we needed to call, got the aircraft back home, all to realize that, you know, the job's never really done. Even when you solve one particular problem, you've gotta be ready for the next one. So thankfully, for the rest of the deployment, things didn't, get quite as complex as that particular night.

Bryan: 27:22

That is crazy. That's like something out of, you know, a simulator scenario or something. Or, you know, on the Aurora, we do it aboard when you upgrade to crew commander, and that's like a scenario they might throw at you to be like, alright. What would you do now? Yeah.

Mike: 27:37

For sure.

Bryan: 27:38

That's such a crazy thing to run into as a new AC.

Mike: 27:41

It's not something that we were ever expecting.

Bryan: 27:44

Yeah. No kidding. Wow. What were some of the most memorable moments or experiences you had while deployed during Christmas?

Mike: 27:52

I think the biggest one was the sense of camaraderie you develop over the deployment. Like I said, you're spending close to 16 hours a day with the same group of people. For better or worse, you gotta get along. And, you do, and you become a family. Deployments present challenges for everyone and affects everyone differently.

Mike: 28:12

But at the end of the day, you're facing them together as a team, so you become very close. So, yeah, even though you're away from your personal family, the people you're deployed with become your almost like a little deployment friend family, and you form lasting friendships with these people.

Bryan: 28:29

Mhmm.

Mike: 28:30

And I think that's that was probably the most enjoyable part of that particular deployment for me and, what really made it a great time.

Bryan: 28:39

Yeah. It's interesting once you deploy with people, and you'll say I would say to my wife sometimes, like, oh, look. There's like, I already mentioned Kevin. Hey. There's Kevin.

Bryan: 28:46

I deployed with him on both my tours. And there's so much that you're saying in that sentence that's not being said, like, that you've developed this bond and you have that relationship of trust. And, you know, for 3 or 4 months, you spent so much of your time together. It really is something special.

Mike: 29:04

Absolutely. And, Yeah. That's a group of people who are gonna, see you at your best and at your worst for the next, however long that deployment lasts. So definitely form a bond.

Bryan: 29:15

Yeah. For sure. So you mentioned that you called home on Christmas. Did you find a way to celebrate Christmas with your family?

Mike: 29:24

Yeah. When I returned from deployment, I was expecting to see my house the way I had left it in October. But my wife actually kept the Christmas tree up and all the Christmas decorations. So we did our entire Christmas celebration again just in February, which was, a lot a lot of fun. May have confused the neighbors a bit.

Bryan: 29:49

That's awesome. I think my wife did the same thing actually after my deployment at that time of year. It's, it's really special.

Mike: 29:56

Yeah. Absolutely.

Bryan: 29:58

Looking back, how did deploying during Christmas shape your perspective on Christmas and the importance of family?

Mike: 30:04

That's a great question. Overall, I think most people serving learn that holidays and dates, birthdays, whatever, they they can be flexible. You know, the December 25th or whatever day your birthday might be, it's only a square on the calendar. So you learn to celebrate at other times, and you learn that, you know, it's no big deal. And you learn to make the most of things like FaceTime, Messenger, stuff like that.

Mike: 30:33

And being able to take advantage of those technologies, We're fortunate for that, and it's much easier than it was even 10 years ago.

Bryan: 30:43

Mhmm.

Mike: 30:44

Or having to send a letter and waiting 2 months for a reply. And, ultimately, I learned to appreciate the resiliency of my family and how they were able to deal with that as well.

Bryan: 30:59

I liked what you're saying about dates being a square on the calendar. I think that that idea being embraced by both the deploying member as well as their family would really promote a lot of resiliency around the idea of missing special events. Accepting the idea that you can reschedule that and say, look. I know I'm not gonna be here, but we're gonna still do this. I think that if you can accept that and really buy into it, that it really takes the sting out of being away for those times.

Mike: 31:30

Absolutely.

Bryan: 31:32

Alright. So we are down to our last three questions. We're gonna ask the same last three questions that we always do for these interviews. One of them is tailored towards Christmas, but 2 of them are just as as usual. So what is the most important thing you do to keep yourself ready for your job?

Mike: 31:50

I would say keep good notes, study, and chairfly. Anyone in aviation is has heard the expression chairfly before, and whether it's that glider back in air cadets or a a jet or a HURC, chair flying helps, because you're gonna be asked to do a very dynamic job, and a lot of the things you might do are what we refer to as perishable skills.

Bryan: 32:17

Mhmm.

Mike: 32:18

So you may have learned it one day, you might not do it again for another year. And when that when that year comes up, you might not get time to hop in the sim and do it again before you have to do it for real. So chair flying, studying, taking good notes definitely helps. Yeah. That process hasn't really changed for me.

Bryan: 32:37

Yeah. I totally agree. I'm a huge proponent of chair flying. I recently had somebody reach out looking for advice before they go to Moose Jaw, and that was the biggest thing that I said to them is, put your poster on the wall of the cockpit, put a chair in front of it, treat it like the real airplane. And before you do anything in the sim, you should already have rehearsed it in your room, at least to get the basics down so that when you go in, they're just polishing what you should already be doing kinda thing.

Bryan: 33:06

I think chair flying is one of your biggest resources in aviation. Absolutely. What do you think makes a good pilot?

Mike: 33:15

I would say, specifically not your, typical maverick, top gun, Tom Cruise type character. I would say someone who has the ability to remain humble and learn from their mistakes. You know, aviation is an inherently hazardous thing, and you can't afford to make all the mistakes yourself. So you have to learn from your own and though learn from mistakes of others. I recently heard somebody, use this quote.

Mike: 33:48

I think it was Eisenhower who said it originally, but take your job seriously, but not yourself. So take your work very seriously and stay focused, but, you know, you've gotta do that without an ego and be willing to learn from your mistakes.

Bryan: 34:05

Yeah. I like that. You have to take it deadly serious. But at the same time, if you take yourself that seriously, you're never gonna be able to let yourself make mistakes. You're not gonna be able to even maybe even admit that you're making mistakes.

Bryan: 34:19

It is just super, super important. I like that a lot. So this is our last question, and we'll tailor this one a little bit into the Christmas theme. What advice would you give to a pilot who is getting deployed during a personally important event, such as Christmas?

Mike: 34:37

I would say this is a it's a job that will likely take you to places that you may not want to go during times you may not want to go there. So it's very important to be adaptable. Like I said earlier, when missing the holidays or birthday, it's not the date that's important. It's about the time you spend with those people whenever that time happens. And I think the biggest one for me is as hard as it is for us, and it's very easy to focus on us because we're the ones deploying.

Mike: 35:08

It's probably twice as hard for the families we're leaving behind because, yeah, the world keeps turning when we're not there and, you know, they all those events still need to take place. The kids need to get dropped off at school. And it's single pilot ops for, the spouse you're likely leaving to do all that work by themselves. So appreciate those people. Appreciate their resiliency, and, make sure they know that it's appreciated.

Bryan: 35:37

Yeah. I think another thing you mentioned, the job takes you to places you might not wanna go. At times, you may not wanna go there. That's so true. At the same time, you can flip that on its head and say, okay.

Bryan: 35:49

This is an adventure that I'm going to embrace. It's gonna bring me a lot of new experiences. And if you I think if you go into it with that mindset, it becomes something that you can really grow from instead of something that you dread.

Mike: 36:02

Absolutely. And, you know, that that may sound negative. But at the same time, looking back on those experiences a couple of years later, it's not it's not the missing the Christmas with the family that you're gonna remember. It's the awesome times with the crew sipping that hot chocolate

Bryan: 36:23

100%. While

Mike: 36:24

you transit over Saudi Arabia playing, playing Christmas tunes and wearing a Santa hat. That's those are the fun stories you're gonna remember.

Bryan: 36:31

Yeah. You're gonna look back, and it's gonna be one of the great adventures of your life.

Mike: 36:35

Definitely.

Bryan: 36:36

Yeah. Okay, Mike. That wraps up our questions for today. I know that you're super busy with test pilot school, and you've just started with your Christmas holidays. So I just wanna really thank you for joining us today, taking some time out of your Sunday, and, being here to answer our questions.

Bryan: 36:52

Thank you.

Mike: 36:53

Absolutely. It was great chatting with you.

Bryan: 36:55

Yeah, man. Okay. That wraps up our special Christmas episode with Mike Behring all about being deployed at Christmas. We'll be taking a short break for the holidays, but we'll be back on January 7th for a much requested episode. We'll be sitting down with my good friend, Fred Roy, to talk all about flying the CF 188 Hornet.

Bryan: 37:14

Do you have any questions or comments about anything you've heard in this show? Would you or someone you know make a great guest, or do you have a great idea for a show? You can reach out to us at the pilot project podcast atgmail.com or on all social media at atpodpilotproject. We'd like to thank you for your awesome support this year and ask you for our favorite Christmas presents. That's like and follow us on social media, share with your friends, and follow and rate us 5 stars wherever you get your podcasts.

Bryan: 37:39

And speaking of Christmas, from all of us here at the Pilot Project Podcast, we'd like to wish you and your family a safe and Merry Christmas and a happy new year. That's all for now. Thanks for listening to Kuplu side up. See you.