Yes, I am sure that was a trip. It must have been a little embarrassing, to be a 37 or 38 year old A1C. I was a Msgt, with 3 years time in grade by then, but I am sure he just put in his time, to retire.
Maybe it was different then, but right now, the USAF is 1,500 pilots short. The USAF told my son, if he wanted to get in as an officer, the only thing open to him, was pilot training, so when he finishes with OTS, he may end up in SUPT at Laughlin, where I was an air traffic controller for almost 10 years. He says he would love to be an instructor pilot on the T-1 Jayhawk. He likes the aircraft THAT much.
The only thing I wanted to do since I was five years old was fly for the Air force.
As I was graduating high school Vietnam had ended and there were too many pilots so I knew I would never get a UPT slot. The only AF Academy opening I could try to get was given the the son of an Army General. Anyway, I made a plan to enlist, get as many college credits while active duty, then try to get a pilot slot in ROTC.
When I left active duty I got into AFROTC and had a pilot slot. I had orders to Reese AFB, TX for UPT and less than two weeks before my commissioning the AF pulled my pilot slot and sent me back into ICBMs because of the needs of the Air Force.