My Military Journey

Hello everyone,

My name is Keith Couch and this is my 11th class at Boston University. I was born in a small town in south eastern Ky in July of 1970 and graduated High School in 1988. I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and was a 1993 graduate. I have since been an officer in the United States Marine Corps, hold the rank of Major (selected for LtCol), and have served in a number of leadership positions both within the realm of my primary duty as an AV-8B Harrier pilot, pictured behind me in my picture, and outside in more of an administrative role having worked on high level staffs. I have been flying since 1994 and have flown the Harrier since completing flight school in 1997. Other than my degree in Mechanical Engineering, I have completed several courses of study while serving these past 14 years up to and including Command and Staff College distance learning program, Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, as well as all the basic and advanced flight syllabus courses. I am currently stationed in Tampa, Florida where I work at MacDill Air Force Base as the Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Commander, United States Central Command. Having said this, on occasion, I deploy overseas, but can normally be reached in the evenings after work at around 7:00 p.m. via the internet. My interests include sports, exercise, and of course flying. I would like to say I truly look forward to working with each of you and gaining a broader understanding of those qualities and principles of leadership and management while also sharing some of my professional lessons learned. I have also attached a video that outlines some of the training an AV-8B (Harrier) pilot goes through while progressing through the flight syllabus, specifically learning to land aboard ship (a building block approach this video shows first how we learn to land on a ship mock up tha is positioned on land). I hope it gives you a perspective of some that which not only attracted me to the proffession but also gives you a bit of insight into just how we learn as pilots. Oh and the video also shows you a bit of the fun side of the job as well-I didn't shoot the video or edit it, but was part of the training. I hope you enjoy.