Brian Kesselring
{{Short description|U.S. Navy Blue Angels pilot}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Captain
| name = Brian Kesselring
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| image = Brian C. Kesselring.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Captain Brian C. Kesselring
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| branch = United States Navy
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| rank = Captain
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| unit = Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-105
| commands = VFA-81
U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron
| known_for = Blue Angels demonstration pilot
| battles =
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| awards = Two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals
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| alma_mater = Concordia
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Brian C. Kesselring is a naval aviator in the United States Navy. He was the flight leader and commanding officer of the Blue Angels, an elite fighter jet flight demonstration squadron. He joined the Navy in 2001 and served in several combat zones before becoming the commander of the Blue Angels in 2019.
Early life
Brian C. Kesselring was raised in Fargo, North Dakota. He attended Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and had three majors: physics, mathematics, and business in 2000.{{cite web |title=U.S. Navy Blue Angels Officers |url=https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/team/officers.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121223850/https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/team/officers.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-11-21 |website=Blue Angels |publisher=US Navy |access-date=31 May 2024 |date=21 November 2022}}{{cite web |title=Captain Brian Kesselring |url=https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Leaders/Leader-View/Article/2458626/captain-brian-kesselring/ |website=Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet |publisher=Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet |access-date=4 June 2024}}
Career
File:Capt. Brian Kesselring.jpg
Kesselring began his military career with the United States Navy in 2001. He was trained at Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida and was commissioned in the United States Navy thereafter. After completing flight training he was designated a Naval aviator in 2003. He then served two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.{{cite web |title=#1 Capt Brian C. Kesserling |url=https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/assets/docs/bio/01-Kesselring.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417223907/https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/assets/docs/bio/01-Kesselring.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-04-17 |website=Blue Angels |publisher=United States Navy |access-date=31 May 2024}} From 2008 to 2011, he was an instructor at the TOPGUN program at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada..
He was then deployed in combat zones, in support of Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom. Later he was deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve; he was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). By 2019 Kesselring had logged in excess of 4,600 flight hours and performed 812 carrier-arrested landings.
=Blue Angels=
He joined the Blue Angels in September 2019, and commanded the team from 2020 to 2022.{{cite news |last1=Callahan |first1=Dan |title=Blue Angels announce new commanding officer for 2023–24 show seasons |url=https://weartv.com/news/local/blue-angels-announce-new-commanding-officer-for-2023-24-show-seasons |access-date=31 May 2024 |website=Wear News |date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430102426/https://weartv.com/news/local/blue-angels-announce-new-commanding-officer-for-2023-24-show-seasons |url-status=live }} He took over leadership of the Blue Angels from Capt. Eric Doyle.{{cite news |last1=Nelsen-Gabriel |first1=Melissa |title=Cmdr. Brian Kesselring Will Lead Team During 75th Anniversary, Possible Aircraft Transition |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-cmdr-brian-kesse/148428322/ |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=Pensacola News Journal |date=3 April 2019 |pages=A1 |language=en}} The Blue Angels transitioned from the legacy F/A-18 Hornet to the new F/A-18E Super Hornet during the 2022 season. Kesselring remained with the team for an additional season beyond the standard two-year term to facilitate the transition.{{cite news |title=Firsts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-firsts/148429095/ |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=Pensacola News Journal |date=9 July 2021 |pages=A2}} During his tenure, the team was featured in the documentary film The Blue Angels.{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Bruce |title='It was time' for a Blue Angels film like no other |url=https://siouxcityjournal.com/life-entertainment/local/movies-tv/blue-angels-greg-wooldridge-paul-crowder-air-show-navy/article_9dd0d976-16d0-11ef-9005-63abbfcf93f1.html |access-date=27 May 2024 |work=Sioux City Journal |date=31 May 2024 |language=en |archive-date=27 May 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240527172217/https://siouxcityjournal.com/life-entertainment/local/movies-tv/blue-angels-greg-wooldridge-paul-crowder-air-show-navy/article_9dd0d976-16d0-11ef-9005-63abbfcf93f1.html |url-status=live }} In 2023 he was named Deputy Commander of Carrier Air Wing CVW 5.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Blue Angels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesselring, Brian}}