#147 Maj. Gen. John "Trapper" Winters on 40 Years of Fighter Aviation

The Afterburn Podcast

Maj. Gen. John "Trapper" Winters joins the Afterburn Podcast for a two-hour conversation covering one of the most unconventional paths to two stars in Air Force history β€” starting as an F-4 Electronic Warfare Officer and navigator, then beating 6% odds to earn a slot in pilot training, flying F-16s in the Aggressor program, commanding a fighter squadron, and ultimately rising to Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Pentagon.

Β In this episode, we cover it all. Trapper talks about growing up in a military family, knowing since age three that he wanted to fly fast jets, and what it actually took to make that happen β€” including working his way through B-52 EWO school, flying with Vietnam veterans who defined squadron culture through "fear, ridicule and sarcasm," and earning a pilot training slot when almost nobody believed it was coming.

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/

πŸ›« Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast πŸ›«

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

πŸ”Ί Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter πŸ”Ί

Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More description

Maj. Gen. John "Trapper" Winters joins the Afterburn Podcast for a two-hour conversation covering one of the most unconventional paths to two stars in Air Force history β€” starting as an F-4 Electronic Warfare Officer and navigator, then beating 6% odds to earn a slot in pilot training, flying F-16s in the Aggressor program, commanding a fighter squadron, and ultimately rising to Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Pentagon.

Β In this episode, we cover it all. Trapper talks about growing up in a military family, knowing since age three that he wanted to fly fast jets, and what it actually took to make that happen β€” including working his way through B-52 EWO school, flying with Vietnam veterans who defined squadron culture through "fear, ridicule and sarcasm," and earning a pilot training slot when almost nobody believed it was coming.

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/

πŸ›« Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast πŸ›«

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

πŸ”Ί Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter πŸ”Ί

Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026-04-10 122 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.