Page
Nineteen
We
met up with the tankers and proceeded to take on fuel. We had pressure problems,
which created a very slow transfer. The tanker stayed with us beyond the normal
break-off point. When he needed to turn back to his base
Final Months
I
am going to try to explain my last several months in the Air Force and why I
decided I had gone far enough. I had always said that, except in combat
conditions, if I lost the desire to fly, I would stop. If I was not flying, I
had no intention of staying in the Air Force. The Air Force changed the rules,
which gave me, and many others, an out.
When
we agreed to get our extra ratings for B47, we had to sign an indefinite tour of
duty statement. There was still a twenty-one month "escape" clause. In
early 1955, this clause was deleted and we were asked to sign a new statement or
revert back to our reserve commission expiration date. I, and many others, did
not sign. This meant they had to let me out not later than December 1955.
Since
I was getting out no later than December, I asked in mid 1955 to be taken off
flight status. This created quite a stir because several other navigators were
taking the same route. For navigators, the B47 had become somewhat
of a nightmare. SAC Headquarters asked for a volunteer to come up to
explain what the problem appeared to be.
Even
though it is considered a no-no to volunteer for much of anything, I agreed to
go up. I won't go into the details. Suffice it to say that my meeting before a
board of three colonels was really a lot more informal than normal, since I was
leaving the Air Force. They did not convince me to stay in. However. I think I
got the navigator's message across. I hope it helped some others. However, my
feeling is that it probably didn't help much.
Now
it was just a matter of what my ground assignment would be while my request to
terminate my reserve commission worked its way through the system. Getting back
to civilian life was just a matter of time.
As it turned out, the commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron was transferred, so I was given the position. This was basically a grouping of a multitude of ground related functions. The position was rather intense and time-consuming, but it was also very interesting and a welcome change from the flying routine, at least for a while.
Last Flight
Let
me explain a couple things. In an effort to maintain proficiency the Strategic
Air Command had a policy whereby a crew could get a spot (temporary) promotion
if they maintained an 85% rating on all relative requirements for four out of
five quarters. This would mean a promotion to Major for us.
When
my former pilots realized how close we were, they started talking to me about coming
back on flying status. It would not help me, since I would be out before the
promotion could work its way through the system, but it could help them. The
$200 per month flying bonus also helped in my decision to go back on flying
status.
After
a few routine flights, it was realized that time was of the essence, so we
figured with proper planning we could complete the requirements in one more
somewhat complex flight. We needed to drop four 500Ib. bombs, perform one day
wet (6.000Ib.) refueling hookup, one night dry hookup, and complete two night
celestial legs. There was also the need to meet or exceed the accuracy
requirements or the effort would be a waste of time.
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