Debrief /

Kirk Lippold’s 26-year career with the U.S. Navy had been routine until an October morning in 2000. Then commander of the USS Cole, Lippold was in his cabin completing routine paperwork when terrorists attacked the guided-missile destroyer while on a fuel stop in Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed, and 37 were wounded. The Cole’s crew worked tirelessly to prevent the ship from sinking so that it could be transported back to the United States, “keeping it from becoming a trophy for the terrorists at the bottom of the harbor,” Lippold wrote in his memoir, Front Burner.

When he retired from the Navy in 2007, Lippold went after his longtime goal of a pilot certificate. He believes his military background helped him to pursue that goal with focus and determination.

Started in aviation… I always had the dream of flight. I used to go down to the airport and watch the airplanes take off and land, and watch the skydivers.

At home in the sky… I felt very comfortable in the airplane, maybe because I’ve wanted to be a pilot for so long. I wouldn’t call myself an instinctive or natural pilot. I still have to work at it.

Hardest lesson to learn... When you’re going through your instrument ticket, that ability to always ask yourself the question “What next? And what next after that?” It’s kind of like the experience I had following the attack. I was the one who always had to be asking myself, “What next and what next after that? What do I need to be thinking about?” One minute from now, one hour from now, one day from now, one week from now. If you don’t push your timeline out—if you wait for a problem to be right up in front of you—you will constantly be behind the crisis and behind the airplane.

Favorite airplane…I would very much like to own a Bonanza F33.

Advice for students... If you really want to fly, save the money so that you have uninterrupted training. Too many student pilots get discouraged because they haven’t set aside the money or done the work for scholarships and other things they could have available to them to become pilots. There’s nothing more discouraging than getting two-thirds of the way through and the money runs out, and there are 1,001 reasons why you never seem to get back to it. Your first challenge and discipline is the budgetary challenge. Once you’re a pilot, you’re a pilot for the rest of your life.

Plus: How is flying similar to commanding a 9,000-ton vessel? Find out in this video.