Editing Roger B. Chaffee (section)

== Navy service ==
[[File:Roger Chaffee Navy Portrait.jpg|thumb|alt=refer to caption|Chaffee's Astronaut selection portrait. Note the NASA insignia on the left lapel]]
After graduation, Chaffee completed his Navy training on August 22, 1957, and received commission as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]]. Following his honeymoon, he was assigned to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Lake Champlain|CV-39|6}} for a six-week assignment in Norfolk with the Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=70}} By the time Chaffee arrived at the base, the ship had already left port. He temporarily worked at the base until October 1957, when he attended flight school at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], Florida.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=140}} He started his training by flying the [[North American T-28 Trojan|T-28]] and the [[Beechcraft T-34 Mentor|T-34]].{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=70}} He was posted to [[Naval Air Station Kingsville]], Texas, from August 1958 to February 1959 as a part of Advanced Training Unit 212.<ref name="navyhistory" /> In Kingsville, he trained on the [[F9F Cougar]] jet fighter.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=70}} His daughter Sheryl was born the day before he left for his first [[aircraft carrier]] training.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=71}} He was awarded his [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviator]] [[United States Aviator Badge|wings]] in early 1959.<ref name="astronautsmemorial" /><ref name="history.nasa.gov" />

Chaffee was transferred to [[Naval Air Station Jacksonville]], Florida, to continue his training. His first project was not flying, but repairing an [[Douglas A-3 Skywarrior|A3D]] twin-engine jet photo reconnaissance plane.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=72}} This plane was typically flown by pilots with the rank of [[lieutenant commander]] or above, but Chaffee became so familiar with the plane from repairing it he became one of the youngest pilots ever to fly it.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=72}} He joined [[Second VA-44 (U.S. Navy)|Attack Squadron 44]] (VA-44) in September 1959, and from October 1959 to March 1960 he trained with [[RVAH-3|Heavy Attack Squadron 3]] (VAH-3).<ref name="navyhistory" />

{{Quote box
 |quote = There's only room for one mistake. You can buy the farm only once.
 |author = —Roger Chaffee{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=73}}
 |width = 20%
 |align = right
}}
Chaffee received a variety of assignments and participated in multiple training duties over the next several years, spending most of his time in photo reconnaissance squadrons. He was stationed at NAS Jacksonville as safety officer and quality control officer for [[VAP-62|Heavy Photographic Squadron 62]] (VAP-62) flying the A3D.<ref name="astronautsmemorial">{{cite web|url=https://astronautsmemorial-foundation.squarespace.com/roger-b-chaffee/|title=Roger B. Chaffee|publisher=Astronauts Memorial Foundation|access-date=June 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004945/https://astronautsmemorial-foundation.squarespace.com/roger-b-chaffee/|archive-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref><ref name="chaffee space" /> He wrote a quality control manual for the squadron, although some of his peers saw this as too demanding.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=74}} By coincidence, he was assigned to a mission where he flew over [[Cape Canaveral]], during which aerial photographs of future launch sites were taken.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=74}}

Between April 4, 1960, and October 25, 1962, including during the critical time of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], Chaffee flew 82 missions over Cuba, sometimes up to three per day, and achieved over 100 flight hours each month. Some of these trips included shuttling three men per plane back and forth to [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]], including the pilot, co-pilot, and the photographer.<ref name="navyhistory" />{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=75}} Some biographies credit him with flying the [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] plane to spy on Cuba, but this is erroneous since he was a Navy pilot and the U-2 was an Air Force plane.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|Vis|2008|p=140}}

After this, Chaffee undertook aircraft carrier flight training, including time spent on {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}} performing both day and night flights.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=75}} He said of day flying, "Setting that big bird down on the flight deck was like landing on a postage stamp"; and of night flying, "Getting catapulted off that flight deck at night is like getting shot into a bottle of ink!"{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=75}} While working in Jacksonville, he concurrently worked on a [[master's degree]].{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=75}} He was on a cruise to [[Africa]] when his son Stephen was born in Oklahoma City.{{sfn|Chrysler|Chaffee|1968|p=76}}

During Chaffee's Navy service he logged more than 2,300 hours flying time, including more than 2,000 hours in jet aircraft.<ref name="astronautsmemorial" /><ref name="history.nasa.gov" /> On February 1, 1966, he was promoted to [[Lieutenant Commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]].<ref name="navyhistory">{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-c/Chaffee-Roger/Chaffee-Roger-Text.html|title=Roger Bruce Chaffee|access-date=September 18, 2016|date=March 3, 2016|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023172132/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-c/Chaffee-Roger/Chaffee-Roger-Text.html|archive-date=October 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>