Thomas G. Otterbein is a retired captain of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. A naval aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

, he held important aviation-related commands both at sea and on shore, including a stint as Executive Officer and acting Commanding Officer of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun).

Early life and career

Otterbein was born in Bad Axe, Michigan. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in 1970. After receiving his commission, he completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1973.

His first operational tour was with Fighter Squadron 111 flying the F-4 Phantom II, where he made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and western Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt was the second of three Midway class aircraft carriers. To her crew, she was known as the "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie," with the last nickname probably the most popular. Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in the Mediterranean Sea as...

 and USS Kitty Hawk

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)

The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk , formerly CVA-63, was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight...

 respectively. Upon completion of F-14 Tomcat training, his next sea tour was with Fighter Squadron 51, where he made an around the world cruise aboard USS Carl Vinson

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)

The USS Carl Vinson is the third United States Navy Nimitz class supercarrier and is named after Carl Vinson, a Congressman from Georgia. Carl Vinson's callsign is "Gold Eagle". It played host to the first NCAA basketball game on an aircraft carrier on 11/11/11 between the University of North...

. In recognition of his superior aeronautical skills and leadership abilities, Captain Otterbein was selected for F/A-18 Hornet training and subsequently became the Executive Officer of Fighter Squadron 161 aboard USS Midway

USS Midway (CV-41)

USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...

. Following that tour, he was the Executive Officer of Fighter Squadron 195 and had command of that squadron for eighteen months.http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=1999_record&page=E2145&position=all

Captain Otterbein successfully completed Nuclear Power Training and was soon back in the fleet, serving as Executive Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)

USS Theodore Roosevelt is the fourth Nimitz-class supercarrier. Her radio call sign is Rough Rider, the name of President Theodore Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry unit during the Spanish-American War...

. He subsequently assumed command of USS Nashville

USS Nashville (LPD-13)

USS Nashville , an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital city of Tennessee. Her keel was laid down on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 7 October...

 and led the ship through Operations Support/Uphold Democracy in Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, earning the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...

 and Battle "E"

Battle Efficiency Award

The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...

 award. The crowning achievement of his career came when he reported as Commanding Officer, USS Harry S. Truman

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

USS Harry S. Truman is the eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. HSTs callsign is Lone Warrior and is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.Harry S...

.

Trivia

• During his time as Commanding Officer of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, Captain Otterbein was involved with the development of the script for the film Top Gun
  Top Gun
  Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
  
  .
• While Commanding Officer of VFA-195, (then) Commander Otterbein was accepted as a contestant on the television game show Jeopardy, but deployment schedules prohibited his appearing on the show.

External links

• Profile of Captain Otterbein