January 20th, 2012 
VersysRider 
By Nicky Zarras, Feature Editor/NV
For many of us in the MSTA situational awareness brings back memories of combat operations. Loss of situational awareness during combat results in the loss of human life. At Petra, the local Greek Bar at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas, Nevada, I got into a discussion with a retired USAF fighter pilot who was once a student in a fighter squadron I was a flight instructor in. He wanted to get back into riding again and pick up his dad’s 2002 Honda Gold Wing. His wife was apprehensive about the possibility of an accident. This started our discussion on Situational Awareness and how the lessons learned from flying in combat carry over to riding motorcycles.
Situational Awareness is a learned, second sense response. It comes from the constant study of your aircraft and the enemy’s capability to inhibit your ability to fly to your target destination. It comes from years of practice and none-too-perfect missions over hostile territory. It forces you to plan your route, know your threats, conduct a detailed preflight briefing, carefully preflight your gear and aircraft, and fly it with other pilots you trust whose habit patterns you know by heart.
