Top Gun Pilot and Combat Aviator | Founder of Top Gun Foundation and Top Gun Options | Matthew “Whiz” Buckley
Combat Story
Ryan Fugit
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2023
⏱️ 122 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/COMBAT and get on your way to being your best self and HELP the show.
This episode was also sponsored by Ten Thousand, a clothing brand for tough, durable gear for the outdoors, working out, and a more active lifestyle. I just took mine to Alaska and they held up like a champ. They also use former Special Operators to test and improve their clothing! Check out https://tenthousand.cc/combatstory and get 15% off and help Combat Story continue to grow! I got their long sleeve t-shirt and it was awesome.
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Today we hear our first Combat Story from a Top Gun and F/A-18 Hornet pilot turned successful options trader Matthew Whiz Buckley.
Whiz found himself flying 44 combat sorties over Iraq and was scrambled just days after 9/11 to intercept a potential threat over the US where he was authorized to go supersonic at just 1,000 feet with a full weapons load (unheard of in the US)!
As with all aviators, we dig into the Call Sign and Whiz is a great one! Despite the highs of flying jets across the world and graduating from Top Gun, Whiz also lost 16 fellow fighter pilots to accidents and suicide, after losing a sister at a very young age that stuck with him for decades.
As a result, he created the Top Gun Foundation to help keep veterans alive and found his way to plant based medicines and psychedelics with other veterans like Marcus Luttrell (aka “Lone Survivor”), which we spend some time on during this episode. Whiz has had tremendous success in his post-military career in the options trading world and continues to train everyday people how to make a living doing the same with Top Gun Options. In fact, his success is what made his foundation possible.
This was a special episode for me personally where we really dig into the experience inside the cockpit and nerd out on all things aviation (like landing on a carrier at night) and the learnings Whiz was fortunate to take from Top Gun and how we can all apply those.
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
Find Ryan Online:
- Ryan’s Linktree https://linktr.ee/combatstory
- Merch https://www.bonfire.com/store/combats...
- Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory
- Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial
- Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial
- Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
- Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Find Matthew Online:
- Matthew's LinkTree https://linktr.ee/whiznfh
- Matthew's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/official_whizbuckley/
- Matthew's Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/ematthewbuckley/details/experience
- Top Gun Options - https://topgunoptions.com/
- Book Covid Crash https://www.amazon.com/COVID-CRASH-Profit-Fighter-Strategies-ebook/dp/B09FKNLKB3
- Book From Sea Level to C Level https://www.amazon.com/Sea-level-C/dp/0615249604
Show Notes:
0:00 - Intro
00:54 - Guest Introduction (Matther 'Whiz' Buckley)
02:20 - Interview Begins
02:57 - Matthew's early life and his time at the local rescue squad
05:47 - Other career paths
09:23 - The idea of joining the Military
13:42 - Early deaths that motivate
16:20 - Experimentation with Psychedelic Therapy
19:32 - Better Help (AD)
20:35 - 'Competitive' nature of Top Gun pilots
24:33 - Boat landings
30:19 - Hardest aircraft to land on a carrier
33:51 - Optics while flying a fighter jet
36:26 - What it's like to fly the F/A-18 Hornet
39:43 - Ten Thousand (AD)
42:21 - The path to getting the right aircraft
47:21 - 'Whiz''s time with 9/11
58:40 - Top Gun and being the Advisary
01:03:01 - What makes Top Gun training the most difficult
01:07:21 - Red Teaming
01:09:17 - Top Gun takeaways that can benifit everyone
01:15:28 - The origin of 'Whiz'
01:19:14 - Mishaps and mistakes
01:30:05 - The transition to the Finance world
1:32:10 - Psychedelic Therapy philanthropy
01:46:12 - Would you do anything differently
01:54:11 - What feeling do you wish you could share
01:55:27 - Carried sentimental items
01:56:03 - Would you do it all again
2:00:20 - Listener comments and shout outs
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | So Top Gun also has what's called an adversary course so I went to Top Gun to learn to be a bad guy as the bandit lead |
| 0:07.8 | There were some events when I'm leading like 15 maybe even 20 bad guy aircraft |
| 0:12.8 | It would be like the battle of Britain man. There might be 15 to 20 bandits or so against, you know 30 40 good guys |
| 0:21.3 | Over the skies of Fallen man. That's what I was saying, you know my the toughest flying over Iraq was boring |
| 0:27.4 | That my combat sorties. I'm embarrassed to even use those words the most challenging flying I ever had my naval career was |
| 0:34.3 | Over over the skies of Fallen. Welcome to combat story |
| 0:37.5 | I'm Ryan fugit, and I serve war zone tours as an army attack helicopter pilot and CIA officer over a 15-year career |
| 0:43.9 | I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite and combat on this show |
| 0:48.3 | I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like on their front lines |
| 0:52.8 | This is combat story today |
| 0:55.2 | We hear our first combat story from a Top Gun and F-A-18 Hornet pilot turned successful options trader Matthew |
| 1:02.0 | Whiz Buckley Whiz found himself flying 44 combat sorties over Iraq and was scrambled just days after 9-11 to intercept a potential threat |
| 1:10.1 | Over the U.S. Ruse authorized to go supersonic at just a thousand feet with a full weapons load unheard of in the U.S |
| 1:17.0 | As with all aviators we dig into the call sign and Whiz is a great one |
| 1:20.8 | Despite the highs of flying jets across the world and graduating from Top Gun |
| 1:24.7 | We also lost 16 fellow fighter pilots to accidents and suicide after losing a sister at a very young age |
| 1:31.0 | That stuck with him for decades as a result |
| 1:33.7 | He created the Top Gun foundation to help keep veterans alive and found his way to plant-based medicines and psychedelics with other veterans like Marcus |
| 1:41.9 | Latrell aka lone survivor which we spend some time on during this episode |
| 1:45.9 | Whiz has had tremendous success in his post-military career in the options trading world |
| 1:50.6 | and continues to train everyday people how to make a living doing the same with Top Gun options |
| 1:55.8 | In fact, his success is what made his foundation possible |
... |
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