Masami Kaida

Overview:
A serious and often made fun of member of the Cougar/Cheetah Squad who idolized CaptainYamazaki. He shares a second in command role withUkumori after Cheetah is promoted to Captain. During the mission to destroy the Amoebic Cannon, his comrades Aozasa and Daiba are killed and he expresses outrage over Mozume's "deficient" intel which stated the Cannon was non-operational. Ukumori then pushes Kaida too far and insults not only his fallen comrades but Captain Yamazaki as well. Kaida attacks Ukumori, intending to shoot him down. Mozume orders Cheetah to shoot him down. Cheetah follows orders, but Kaida shows no hatred as he falls. He says goodbye to his old friend with a smile before dying in the explosion.

Personality
Kaida is most of the time happy, carefree and enthusiastic. He enjoys the thrill of the dogfight. However, he is strongly loyal to his friends and doesn't take kindly to anyone insulting them (case in point: what happened with Ukumori).

He also seems to be very close to Lynx/Cheetah; their friendship apparently extends to even before the start of the game. Throughout the game, he simply calls him "Cheetah" and "Lynx" rather than "Captain". This loyalty and friendship seem to be so cemented between them that Kaida at one point loudly expresses his desire to rush to Cheetah's aid during the battle over the Yaura River, an act which would have been a clear violation of direct orders. During this mission, he also saves Orishina from an apparently downed enemy plane who'd been meaning to attack from behind.

Legacy:
Orishina later daydreams taking part in Kaida and Cheetah's final duel. During a mission to destroy Lautern's Glacier Fleet, he shot down more enemies than she did much to everyone's surprise.

Trivia

 * Kaida is similar to Alvin "Chopper" Davenport from Ace Combat 5, given his laidback attitude and sense of humor.