Brent W. Jett Jr.  Brent Ward Jett Jr. (born October 5, 1958), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace and aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. Jett was born in Pontiac, Michigan, but considers Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to be his hometown. Married to Connie Jett of Atlanta, Georgia. His hobbies are water and snow skiing, board sailing, boating, running, basketball, and squash. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1981. He received a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1989. Jett was designated a Naval Aviator in March 1983, and reported to VF-101 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia for initial F-14 Tomcat training. Upon completion of this training, he was assigned to VF-74 and made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean aboard the aircraft carrier . While assigned to VF-74, he was designated as an airwing qualified Landing Signal Officer (LSO) and also attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). Jett was selected for the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School – Test Pilot School Cooperative Education Program in July 1986, and completed 15 months of graduate work at Monterey, California, before attending the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in June 1989. After graduation in June 1990, he worked as a project test pilot at the Carrier Suitability Department of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate, Naval Air Test Center, flying the F-14A/B/D, T-45A, and A-7E. Jett returned to the operational Navy in September 1991 and was again assigned to VF-74, flying the F-14B aboard USS "Saratoga". He has logged over 5,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft and has over 450 carrier landings. Selected by NASA in March 1992, Jett reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. After two years of various technical assignments in the Astronaut Office, Jett was assigned to his first mission as the pilot of STS-72. A year later he again served as Pilot on STS-81. From June 1997 to February 1998, he served as NASA Director of Operations at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Star City, Russia.