Submitted by: Headquarters Marine Corps
Story Identification #: 2004113011579
Story by Lt. Col. Greg Reeder
MCL Webmaster Note: LtGen Magnus is a Life Member of the Marine Corps League-Westchester County Detachment

As some of the last CH-46 helicopters rolled off the production line in 1971, the Corps was welcoming a new naval aviator. That pilot has now officially had his wings longer than any other naval aviator on active duty.

Lieutenant General Robert Magnus was awarded the Gray Eagle trophy, Nov. 29, 2004, in recognition of his distinction as "the most ancient naval aviator on active duty."

The Gray Eagle award is a tradition that began at the Naval Aviation 50th Anniversary Ball in 1961. It honors "a clear eye, a stout heart, a steady hand, and a daring defiance of gravity and the law of averages." Since then, 34 Navy and Marine officers have held the designation.

"Flying is considered a dangerous profession," said LtGen Magnus. "Naval aviation was pretty much magic until systems and maintenance began standardizing in World War II. Back then, and even through the [1950s], it was not uncommon to have three or four crashes each year outside of combat. The Gray Eagle was intended to recognize those who could survive long enough to earn the title."

Today flying is much safer, and the award has taken on a different tone.

"The award is not a credit to being old, and it's no longer about who can survive an inherently dangerous profession," said the 57-year-old Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources. "It's about the support system and being able to recognize the strength of the links that allow that system to remain intact for so long."

Magnus tells young pilots to remember they are the last link in a chain that exists only to support the warfighter. Humility and responsibility, he says, are the keys to someday becoming ancient aviators themselves.

"We've come a long way-with no computers in our aircraft, dropping mortar rounds from the cockpit to harass the enemy to flying state-of-the-art machines with highly integrated information systems. Command and control systems are improving, target acquisition is more accurate, and combined technologies will someday enable Joint Strike Fighter systems to never run out of bullets on target."