The U.S. Marine Corps major, whose call-sign is “Corky,” flies the No. 7 plane for the Blue Angels. It’s his job to take reporters up and make them throw up or pass out. He’s good at it. Miller, 34, has been in the armed forces for 12 years. In the eight years since he finished flight school, he has logged 1,600 flight hours and has made 300 aircraft-carrier landings. A combat veteran, Miller is in his first year with the Angels.

Do women seem to go for fighter pilots? I’d like to avoid that question.

Where does your nickname come from? My nickname comes from being “special.” My current nickname is a toss-up between Warren (from “Something About Mary”) and Corky (from “Life Goes On”).

What was the funniest prank you’ve pulled on the Navy guys? There’s internal jokes between the diamond and the two solo pilots. [The Blue Angels fly as a four-plane diamond interacting with two solo pilots for part of their show.]. They’ll joke and talk about each other’s manliness, some of the Navy not being so manly.

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Do you go to a lot of parties? Every show we do, we’ll have what we call a commit, where we’ll go to an event that fosters recruiting. They’ll have food there. Our mission is to recruit and retain.

Does that ever get tough in a town like San Francisco? Do you experience criticism? I’ve never experienced it. Everyone’s on board. Rarely is there a negative vibe.

What will you do when you’re finished being a fighter ace? A lot of times people will become a commanding officer of a squadron, deploying from a carrier. That’s the ultimate goal. And [they’ll] potentially put on the star of an admiral someday.

amartin@examiner.com

Check out more 3-minute interviews from our San Francisco newsroom.