The U.S. Navy's Top Gun program is famous around the world thanks to the success of the Tom Cruise films. But the downside of this elite profession is the mental and physical toll it takes on the pilots.

The U.S. Navy's Top Gun program, known globally due to popular movies, is under scrutiny as concerns about its pilots' mental and physical well-being come to light. Former Top Gun pilot Matthew Buckley and other veterans have raised concerns about the neurological disorders and depression affecting their community, with some cases tragically resulting in suicide. This situation has prompted a congressional investigation into the Navy's protocols and oversight.

Matthew Buckley, with a remarkable 15-year career in flying F-18s, recalls various symptoms arising from his demanding training, including forgetfulness and mood swings, which are not uncommon among pilots. Despite these signs, deep-seated cultural expectations often discourage pilots from seeking help. He advocates for the Navy to enhance transparency and provide better support to outgoing pilots to alleviate their post-service struggles.

The issue has become personal for many, including families like that of the late Captain Jake Rosales, whose decline in mental health was noticeable to his ex-wife prior to his death. The Navy's lack of intervention in his case is a point of contention for his family, who, like many others, demand better mental health surveillance and intervention strategies.

Neurologists have highlighted the critical need for monitoring the long-term health impacts endured by pilots subjected to intense training conditions. Such oversight could permit timely intervention and inform adjustments to training and equipment, potentially improving pilots' quality of life. The findings of the Congress-initiated investigation could lead to the Navy implementing changes to address these growing concerns.



The hidden battle of Top Gun: Elite pilots suffer mental, physical toll

They are the elite pilots of the American military. The best recruitment ad for the Navy. And the inspiration for many Hollywood films. They are the Top Gun pilots. But some of the airmen who have gone through the program are suffering from neurological disorders, depression, and some have even committed suicide. The problem has now reached Congress. Matthew Buckley flies F-18s. He has fond memories of his 15-year career in the Navy. This is my flight jacket from the fleet. So whenever you see a fighter pilot with their flight jacket, it tells a story. This is my patch from Top Gun. And then these are 100 landings aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. That's 100 landings aboard the Kitty Hawk. He kept this footage from one of his combat training exercises. The heavy breathing shows how his body is being put to the test. More than 3,000 hours spent flight training at high altitude. After a few years, the first symptoms started to appear. Forgetfulness, quick to anger, lethargic. And as a fighter pilot, you're taught to what? Hack it. You've got to tough it out, man. You're not going to raise your hand and say, hey, something's wrong with me. To feel the intensity of these flights, Matthew Buckley offered to take us with him. And you could potentially pass out. Do you want to try a loop and go overhead? All right, let's do it. I'm here for that. 3, 2, 1. Here we go. All right, look out at the wing tips. So we're going to have to pull some G's. You ready? I am. Here we go. Oh! Woo! Wow! That was impressive. Imagine doing that for thousands and thousands of hours. Landing aboard the ship is a car crash. Imagine sitting in your driveway and being lifted up by a crane to the second story and dropped. Buckley manages a foundation for veterans and is raising awareness about the mental health of pilots. He's also calling on the Navy to be more transparent. So even if I knew all of the things beforehand, I still would have done it. But at least the transition out would have been better. I would have known why potentially I was drinking or depressed or quick to anger. In the span of a few years, three of his comrades from the Top Gun program committed suicide. And they are not the only ones. Captain Jake Rosales ended his life on a California beach two years ago after a long period of depression. He was a good pilot. He was honestly the... I'm a little bit biased, but I'd like to believe he was the best pilot. He was passionate on that and he was... He was damn good at it. Top Gun was everything to him. His ex-wife noticed his mental state decline over time. Starting in August, he started complaining about insomnia. Started complaining about headaches. And he was just... He started to have just major mood swings. I just attributed it to more of like the stress and the hours he kept. I asked him, I was like, you need counseling. And he's like, I can't do that. They'll ground me. Jake held off on seeing a doctor. But his family is left feeling like the Navy did not do enough compared to his dedication. They're smart. They're educated. They're the top of the top and they're killing themselves. So yeah, the Navy needs to step in and figure out, I don't know, better helmets, better technology, better... At the very minimum, be observing these men and women and make sure that the damage that they're doing isn't irreversible. She requested an autopsy of her ex-husband's brain. But the Navy did not give the go-ahead. In Boston, we meet up with a neurologist who frequently receives pilots suffering head trauma. When someone gets repeated hits to the head... See, as we go through the brain, you can see these white spots popping in and out of view. They should not be here. They should not be there. They're evidence of damage. According to him, monitoring the health of pilots would allow for earlier intervention and their trainings could be adopted. We can mitigate, reduce, and using equipment and other means, training changes, we can potentially eliminate some of the unnecessary exposures to decrease the risk that these individuals have problems later in life. Congress has requested an investigation from the Navy. Pilots and their families are awaiting their findings in hopes of seeing that the Navy takes steps to better care for the lives of its elite pilots.

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