AIRCRAFT LAUNCH AND RECOVERY SPECIALIST

“Imagine the rush of a roller-coaster, the heat of a furnace, the blast of 10,000 hair dryers … in your face and the sound of every rock and roll band playing right now, all around you, all rolled into one-second-and-a-half action, and that's the launch of one fighter.” That's how public relations executive Greg Rubenstein describes his visit to an aircraft carrier to see the launch of F-14 and F-18 fighter jets on the Trans-Am Series Web site (http://www.trans-amseries.com/news/carrier.html). The landing of these jets is just as dramatic. Pilots bring their aircraft in at 120 miles an hour. They have to catch a hook on the tail of the jet onto a cable that brings the plane to a stop in just 200 feet.

Outlook

The U.S. military hires more than 365,000 people each year, and that number is likely to remain steady. There are about 1,400 aircraft launch and recovery specialists in the military and more than 145,000 people in transportation careers, according to America's Top Military Careers.