The young Ukrainian pilot known by the call sign "Juice" campaigned for F-16 fighter jets for his country in its battle against Russia. The joking, the nonchalance, the sterile vocabulary — it’s all part of a well-honed fighter pilot culture, which ingrains the mental resilience needed to survive. “Even with our losses, we are still doing our job in this real combat mood, real fighter pilot mood, with crazy jokes. Beyond their fears and sorrows, there is another emotion, unique to war, which Ukrainian fighter pilots must now also control each time they fly. For its part, the US military plans to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the supersonic fighters this October.

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Persons: Nolan Peterson, Read, CNN —, I’ve, Andriy Pilshchikov —, he’d, Juice, I’m, “ We’re, we’ve, “, …, ” Melaniya, wasn’t, —, Tom Wolfe, ’ Nolan Peterson, ” Jonathan “, ” Juice, it’s, ” Podolyak, ” Organizations: Atlantic Council, US Air Force, Fortem Technologies, CNN, Tactical Aviation Brigade, Russia, Garmin, California National Guard, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Twitter, Facebook, US Air National Guard Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Afghanistan, Russian, Kyiv’s outskirts, ” Jonathan “ Jersey, Soviet, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, California