Lieutenant Commander Matt “LC” Reed has been an adversary instructor pilot with the Sundowners since 2013. Before Key West, he flew the F/A-18C Hornet in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on three combat deployments on board the USS Eisenhower.
VFC-111 is the U.S. Navy’s premier Fleet Adversary squadron. Located at NAS Key West, the squadron trains and prepares our nation’s front-line fighter aircraft to ensure their effectiveness. The unit, also known as the Sun Downers, currently operates the supersonic and highly maneuverable Northrop F-5 Tiger II, the same aircraft featured in the 1986 blockbuster movie “Top Gun.” All of the Sun Downer aviators are former F/A-18 Hornet pilots and most are TOP GUN graduates.
Reed’s wife Colleen is an attorney with Reed Palacios Law Firm. They have two kids and too many animals to list. When he isn’t filming HGTV specials, he’s coaching Little League baseball.
(On a lighter note, here’s the bio Reed’s Navy “friends” wrote for him in jest: “LCDR Matt ‘LC’ Reed continues to thrive in the U.S. Navy after parlaying a clerical error allowing him into pilot training instead of submarine supply service. Not only did he hoodwink the Navy into allowing him to fly F-18s off of boats, he also married well above his pay grade. Somehow all his kids and pets are thriving and doing well, in spite of his addictive fishing habit.”)
