Welcome to the Fighter Pilots’ Guide to Living. Today’s guest is retired Commander Alex 'Rattler' Rucker, who flew the F-8 Crusader in Vietnam and brought his skills as a gunner and tactician to Topgun as an instructor before transitioning to the F-14 Tomcat.In the second of two episodes about his career in naval aviation, Rattler talks about the lessons he learned flying the F-14 Tomcat, the incredible aviators who inspired him, and the tail art he designed for VF-142.Rattler also talks about how he got his callsign and how he maintained his 61-year marriage during his career. We close with a discussion about his contribution to an enduring commemoration of both the Tomcat and the aviators who flew it through the Tomcat MonumentAbout Rattler: Alex ‘Rattler’ Rucker entered the U.S. Navy in 1965 through the U.S. Naval School of Preflight, and was selected to fly the F-8 Crusader in 1967. Following three deployments to Vietnam, Rattler was assigned to Topgun as a gunnery and tactics instructor in 1974. He transitioned to flying the F-14 Tomcat in 1977.Rattler’s Tomcat career included tours with VF-142 and VF-14. He was named Fighter Pilot of the Year for Fighter Wing One in 1979, and served as the F-14 demo pilot for Fighter Wing One in 1980. Rattler retired in 1985 as a Commander and flew commercially, retiring from American Airlines as a Captain in 2003. About the hosts:Mitch 'TACO' Parmentier has 16 years of experience with the F/A-18 Super Hornet as a Weapons System Operator (WSO). He has a longstanding love of aviation and history that he brings to the podcast.Beth Bailey was raised by F-14 Radar Intercept Officer Glen 'Wheels' Wheless and grew up around aviators and their unique brand of storytelling for most of her childhood. Beth worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner, and host of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on X: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/