In September 1985, he was the first African-American pilot selected to fly with the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels.

To make room for the Special Forces Helicopters, VFP-63 Detachment 5 was flown to the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) for the remainder of the deployment.

Following his first operational deployment flying the Crusader, the navy began phasing the RF-8G out of service and the F-14A Tomcat was assuming the photoreconnaissance mission.

His first assignment after training in the F-14 was with the Blacklions of Fighter Squadron 213 (VF-213), where he made two deployments on board the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Following three years of flying with the Blue Angels, Captain Cochran was assigned to the Bounty Hunters of VF-2 for department head tour as the squadron's maintenance officer.

During his assignment at Air War College, Captain Cochran earned a diploma in International Security and a Masters in Human Resource Management from Troy State University.

Following Air War College, Captain Cochran reported for duty as the executive officer (XO) at Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) Wolfpack.

It was during this tour that Captain Cochran applied for, completed an interview process, and was selected as commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels.

After completing his commanding officer tour, VF-111 won the Battle Efficiency (E) and Safety (S) as the best F-14 squadron in the United States Pacific Fleet.

Captain Cochran was directly responsible for developing and grooming over 100 future naval officers for the navy and United States Marine Corps.

[4] He is also a graduate of the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama, and earned a master's degree in human resource management from Troy State University.