Following duty as Flag Lieutenant to Commander Control Force, Atlantic Fleet, he received flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Designated a Naval Aviator in December 1922, Lieutenant Sherman was assigned to Fighter Squadron VF-2B until 1924, when he returned to Pensacola as an instructor. Study at the Naval War College was followed in 1927 by service in the aircraft carriers and . While in the latter ship, he commanded Scouting Squadron VS-2B and was Flag Secretary to Commander Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet.