THUD

SERVICE RECORD

Rob “THUD” Labonte was the first pilot to be recruited to VF-32 Wet Iron by Cdr. Mark “Tinman” Fiegen. His ability to rapidly synthesize target tracks, coordinate maneuvers to intercept, and launch missiles at the bleeding edge of their engagement envelope can only be described as professionally controlled chaos.

His callsign was earned during a late-night challenge in the simulator to prove that he could fly a fully loaded F-14, inverted and in afterburner, below 100' AGL the length of Sochi airfield with gear down with max fuel. Too stubborn to quit, the craters began to progress further down the runway. On the eighth pass he cleared it, but by the seventh attempt the name had stuck: “Tries Hard, Usually Dies.” A reminder of the sound one’s forehead makes impacting the runway under 74,000lbs of screaming metal.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, THUD was the exact type of pilot that Tinman and ESSP were looking for. A pilot determined to eke out every last bit of performance an aircraft has to offer, demand more, and somehow manages to find it. This combined with his deep understanding of the weapons employed by the F-14 has made THUD a lethal asset to have stalking the airspace far above the clouds.

Since joining VF-32 the callsign has taken on a second meaning, “Tech Handy, Usually Drunk.” Second only to Tesla in his knowledge of the various airframes and weapons systems within Carrier Air Wing ZERO, THUD has become a valuable resource for providing technical assistance from both the driver’s seat of his F-14 as well as in the hangar, always with a bourbon in hand.

APPEARS IN

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