Episode 113: The Man in the Jet Fighter Back Seat: Stories of Tense Moments, Service and Perspective

Almost Paradise In North Idaho · Mar 11, 2026 · 1h 11m

Today on Almost Paradise in North Idaho, I sit down with retired Naval Flight Officer Mike Peterson for a fascinating conversation about life in the cockpit—or as Mike jokingly puts it, the back seat, where the “important work” happens.

Mike served aboard aircraft carriers navigating and targeting from high-performance fighter jets, guiding missions in situations where American troops were sometimes dangerously close to the action. He shares stories of the intensity of carrier operations—launching and landing on a deck that tilts, rolls, and heaves in the middle of the ocean—and the…