USAF Pilot Training Week One

It was a cold day in February 1970 when I started pilot training.

About half of our class was sitting around the briefing room, as the first half was the morning period and we were the afternoon period.  We were all excited and probably a little apprehensive.

A few of the instructors were quietly getting acquainted with their new students.  Jimmy Huard and I were sitting there waiting to meet ours... and then we heard this...

"You G-- D--- Camel Jockey, you don't ever stop flying the G-- D--- airplane!"  The tirade continued very loudly as a large guy with a cigar stub clenched tightly in his stained teeth came into the room behind a terrified skinny Iranian officer.  The Iranian ran out of the room and everyone looked at the instructor as he sat down at our desk.  Very loudly... so everyone could hear... he said: "Don't ever stop flying the f----- airplane!"  He continued: "That d--- idiot threw his hands up and just started screaming as we were coming in for a landing..."  The tirade continued on for a little bit longer and the mood was set.  

Then old Charlie said; "Which one of you is Kruger?"  I remember hearing snickers around the room...

The conversation above was cleaned up and shorten by quite a bit.  Charlie was the most colorful of the civilian instructors we used for the first phase of our training.  He never yelled at me.  He always had a short little cigar stub in his mouth.

I never ever stopped flying the airplane... until I retired.  He taught me and he taught me well.

We had two Iranian students in our class who were perpetual students, they just kept washing back to the next class.  We all thought they liked Big Spring better than Iran and didn't want to go back.  This was back when Iran was an ally.  Before Jimmy Carter.