BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Pete thought of the mighty men of valor who fought alongside King David in biblical times. That was his call. Not a pulpit. A plane. His call meant facing danger every time he strapped himself into the cockpit. He’d made Jesus the Lord of his life as a child. As a fighter pilot, he had to live his life prepared to meet Him every day. Pete landed the plane with a contented sigh. This had been his last flight at the Air Force Academy. He’d been selected for Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in Wichita Falls, Texas. There he would begin his fighter-pilot training. Packing his bags, Pete loaded his car and left Colorado for the long drive to Texas. During the trip, he spoke to his pop in Tennessee by phone. “Hey, bud,” his pop said, “if you’ve got time before you start, see if you can come here. I’m not feeling the greatest and would love to see you.” “Sure, Pop.” Pete drove all night, reaching his new apartment the next morning. He was signing the lease agreement when his mom phoned. “Son,” she said, “Papa died last night.” Foundation of Faith “My pop was only 46 years old,” Pete explains. “Doctors think he died of an aneurysm. Mom hurt her back trying to resuscitate him. I went home in shock. Mom had to bury Pop and move out of the parsonage. After the funeral, I stayed to help her move. “I was grateful for the solid foundation of faith my parents had given me. I knew no matter how bleak things seemed, God was good, and He had a plan for us. Pondering this situation and the call of God on my life, I knew I had to live by faith. “The other voices from my childhood I remember as early as my parents’ voices were Papa Kenneth and Mama Gloria Copeland. Listening to their teachings on faith was an integral part of our family life. When I was a teenager, on the way to my high school job, I played a tape of Papa Kenneth singing, ‘He Is Jehovah.’ I had it cranked up as loud as it would go and took a turn too fast. My car flew sideways off the gravel road, through a fence and landed in an empty field. Papa Kenneth was still singing. “This foundation of faith in the Lord and trust in His Word—regardless of the circumstances—was a foundation that became fundamental to who I am today. I was already a Partner with KCM when I went to the Air Force Academy. I tithed and gave to both local churches and to KCM.” In the years to come, Pete would come to understand even better how vitally important this foundation of faith really was in his life. Following his pop’s death, Pete arrived at pilot training already behind. Three months into the program, an accident blew out a ligament in his right knee. After surgery, he was grounded until he recovered. Still, he graduated in the top of his class. Finally, he was ready to start his career as an Air Force pilot. As he graduated, Desert Storm ended, which meant the Air Force didn’t need as many fighter pilots. He’d been grounded before he ever got a chance to start! Pete felt as though he’d been hit by three hard punches. First, his pop’s sudden death. Next, the knee injury and surgery. Now, there were no flying jobs available. Weapons School Pete regrouped on God’s Word and trusted Him for the future. A fighter squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho needed a lieutenant to run their executive office. Although it wasn’t a flying position, Pete hoped that within a few years he’d be back in the cockpit. During his free time, Pete volunteered as a river guide, led people through Yellowstone National Park, and taught kids to ski. He enjoyed the camaraderie and the brotherhood of warriors, realizing this was also the identity of the Christian brotherhood. He met a colonel (the group commander in charge of flying) on the base, a man he admired. “The colonel said I should meet his daughter, Jen,” Pete recalls. “She was studying to become a physical therapist. She was smart and beautiful. We were friends for a long time before we began courting. A year later, I proposed and she accepted. God not only brought me my wife, after being sidelined for a year and a half, I was also qualifying to fly the F-15. “After our first assignment in Idaho, I was selected for an assignment in Florida where we developed flight tactics for next generation combat conditions.” Pete attended the Air Force Weapons School, where the best of the best refined their skills. A very intense program, he graduated in 1999 at the age of 31. Commissioned as an officer, highly trained as a fighter pilot, he was fulfilling his calling and enjoying the Lord’s plan. Being a fighter pilot was hard on one’s body. During takeoff on a commercial plane, the force a passenger feels pressing them back against the seat is about half a G-force. At 6 feet 1 inch, Pete weighed 180 pounds (200 when wearing his equipment). Half a G-force made Pete the equivalent of 300 pounds. Flying an F-15 was like flying a roller coaster sideways. He’d pull 9 G’s during flight, which felt like 1800 pounds of pressure. After a dogfight sortie in an F-15, Pete could ring the sweat out of his shirt! He thought it was the best workout ever. Although each day was a grueling 12 hours, he loved every minute of it. Flying in Combat Pete’s first combat tour was over northern Iraq. His second was over southern Iraq. On his third tour, he flew from Bahrain—an island in the Arabian Gulf—over Iraq. Just before leaving Florida, Jen gave birth to their first daughter, Anna. A month after her birth, the family moved to Okinawa, which sits about 400 miles south of Japan’s Kyushu Island. 14 : BVOV

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