A Blue Angel's Journey Featuring Boss Gil Rud

Featuring Boss Gil Rud, Blue Angels Flight Leader (1986 - 1988) | Produced & hosted by Ryan Nothhaft, Blue Angel Phantoms

In this Interview, Boss Rud discusses his brand new memoir “From the Prairie to the Pacific: A Blue Angel’s Journey” that details his life from growing up in a small remote farming town in North Dakota to becoming the Commanding Officer of the Blue Angels and later the Captain of an aircraft carrier.  With ten deployments under his belt, Boss Rud attributes many of the lessons learned from his informative years on his family’s farm to later serving him well in his naval career.   

A graduate of North Dakota State University in 1966, Boss Rud attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) at NAS Pensacola the following year. Completing his flight training at NAS Chase Field in Beeville, TX, Rud was assigned to fly the A4 Skyhawk and deployed to the Mediterranean aboard the USS Forrestal. Upon his return, Rud switched to the LTV A-7 Corsair and combat deployed to Vietnam aboard the USS Oriskany in 1971. He’d also fly air support in the subsequent evacuation of Saigon known as Operation Frequent Wind in April of 1975.

Upon the conclusion of combat in Vietnam, Rud held a variety of roles including RAG Instructor, Landing Signal Officer (LSO) and Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 192 (VFA-192) also known as the “World Famous Golden Dragons”. It was during his time as the Head of Junior Officer Detailing in Arlington, Virginia in 1985 when Rud was encouraged by Jim Maslowski and Randy Clark, two former Blue Angels, to submit an application to become the Blue Angels’ Commanding Officer for the 1986 season. Despite 11 other applicants, Boss Rud was selected for the role and took command of the team for their final season in the A4 Skyhawk.  

Boss Rud recalls several significant memories from his first season with the Blue Angels, including flying an airshow in Fargo, North Dakota in front of his family and friends. Unbeknownst to Boss Rud, also in the audience that weekend was a nine year old boy, Brian Kesselring, attending his first Blue Angels air show and would later go on to also serve as the Commanding Officer of the Team. 

1986 also marked the release of the feature film “Top Gun” produced by Paramount Pictures, and the music video “Dreams” by Van Halen. Each played a significant role in driving massive audiences to air shows in the years that followed. 

Boss Rud also discusses the incredible work done by Navy test pilots during the transition to the F/A-18 for the 1987 season and the tragic loss of Keith Crawford, the test pilot responsible for developing some of the team’s key flight control modifications. 

With the new Hornets came new challenges. Boss Rud details how modifications had to be made with air traffic control in Pensacola so that the team could efficiently get their six jets to altitude for transit to air show sites. He also recalls the Blue Angels’ flyover of Super Bowl XXII in 1988 and his emotions after landing for his final airshow. 

Additional roles Boss Rud held prior to his retirement include CO of the USS Wabash, Deputy Commander & Chief of Staff of Task Force Five, and CO of the USS Constellation.

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