Upon graduation he entered Aviation Officer’s candidate school in Pensacola, FL and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy. He attended pilot flight training and received his Navy “Wings of Gold”. What began as a four year stint turned into a 23 year Naval career. Commander Taylor has flown various Naval aircraft including the P-3C Orion, S-3B Viking, E-2C Hawkeye, and the SH-3 Sea King helicopter. Diverse assignments have included deployments to the Western Pacific/Indian Ocean region, Mediterranean Sea, Sicily, Iceland, and other locations around the world. As a manager and leader, he has lead Navy and civilian personnel and managed multi-million dollar budgets in operational squadrons and at Headquarters commands in San Diego, CA and Washington D.C.
Before retiring from the Navy, Commander Taylor returned home to Miami as Commanding Officer, Navy Recruiting District, Miami. He was responsible for all Navy Officer and Enlisted recruiting programs in Central and South Florida including Puerto Rico and the United States’ Virgin Islands.
Ernie’s boyhood dream to become a commercial airline pilot came true when he joined Northwest Airlines. With over 10,000 hours of flying time, he has served as Second Officer on the Boeing 727, First Officer on the Boeing 727, Airbus 319/320 and Boeing 757, while conducting scheduled passenger operations, both domestic and international.