I notice alot of people find it amazing that a young pilot can be in command in his mid-twenties. At least in the Air Force this is the norm. And trust me, what they expect from you is four times as complicated as anything we do at the airlines. I guess it boils down to training and more training. I became a C-141 Commander at 26, and we flew alot, but we also had to fly at least one 4 hour training sortie a month in the pattern, flying NDB,VOR, ASR and ILS approaches, not to mention engine-inop procedures. Remember there are alot of B-52 Commanders out there in their late twenties carrying some serious firepower......