Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 7, 1 July 1987 — Following Graduation from Naval Academy [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Following Graduation from Naval Academy

Hawaiian Ensign EyesCareer as FighterPilot

More than 1,051) young men and women received their degrees and commissions at the annual graduation exercises of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, ! Md., May 20, and Fred Eugene Redling, a 1982 Kamehameha Schools graduate, is believed to be the only Hawaiian in the Class of '87. Ensign Redling, 23, is back home where he has been temporarily assigned as staff duty officer in public affairs at Barbers Point Naval Air Station. It is temporary because he is due in Pensacola, Fla., to begin flight training as a pilot beginning Oct. 12. The young officer stopped by the Ka Wai Ola O OHA office shortly following his return home and made some observations about life at Annapolis and a career in the military in general. As for himself, he became interestedin a Naval career while enrolled in Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) at Kamehameha. He set his sights then on being a Navy fighter pilot. Redling was not a Congressional appointee. He had applied to the Academy as an individual student and was accepted. He remembers that three other classmates from that '82 class went to Annapolis directly after graduation. One dropped out during his junior year and is completing his education at the University of Hawaii Manoa. The other two— Kimo Lee and Miehael Naho'opi'i — graduated with the Class of '86. Redling reported that Lee is currently taking flight training at a Texas base while Naho'opi'i is taking submarine nuclear power school training at another mainland loeahon. Redling remembers also that the Class of '82 had at least one Kamehameha student enrolled at every service academy.

Redling himself did not enter the Academy until 1983 following one year of prep school. This explains why he did not graduate with the Class of '86. In reflecting on his four years at Annapolis, Redling said it was hard at times but added, "It was well worth it."

"Your plebe or first year is the hardest. It is like a cultural shock. You are in a totally different environment and you must make adjustments fast," recalls Redling. Asked what advice he had for other young Hawaiians like himself, Redling quickly admitted that the Academy isn't for everyone but replied that "if one wants to serve his country and at the same time have a reasonably secure career, then I highly recommend the service academies." Redling is one of two sons of Anthony Eugene Redling and Nellannette Roselani Tam Redling. His younger brother, Frank, graduated with the McKinley High School Class of 1984. He is keypunch operator with a service station ehain. Redling's father is with the state harbor poliee while his mother manages a jewelry shop in the Waikiki Sheraton Hotel. Unlike thousands of cadets who traditionally get married on graduation day, Redling is temporarily putting that off for another day. He admits to having a girlfriend in Maryland. Editor's Note: lt is interesting to note that among other graduates of Kamehameha currentl\; //ying as commercial or military pilots is Ka Wai Ola O OHA editor's own son, Kent Miehael Kamakaaloha Haina, a eaplain and squadron leader in the U.S. Air Force. Young Haina, Class of 1976, flies the "Ghadafi Special" (F-lll fighter bomber) out of Lakenheath Air Force Base, England. He is a 1980 graduate of Central Washington Uniuersity, Ellensberg, Wash. He is married to the former Mary Zumbrunnen of Ellensberg and they areparents ofKentJr., 5, and daughter, Kasey Ann, 2%

Fred Eugene Redling