Page 49 - Appendix A

An example is in 1971 when I was qualifying to move from enlisted to officer through the
Airmen Education and Commissioning Program (AECP). In 1971 the Airman Education and

Commissioning Program (AECP) offered active duty U.S. Air Force enlisted personnel the
opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree while being assigned to an Air Force ROTC detachment
at a 4-year institution before attending Officers Training School (OTS) at Medina Annex at
Lackland AFB, TX. One of the requirements was a letter of endorsement by the airman’s
commander. I asked my Maintenance Commander for an endorsement letter and his response
was: “Sorry, I can’t endorse a negro to be an officer because all negroes are lazy and
slubbering.” My response was a polite “thank you, sir”. I left his office and went to the
Operations Commander who gladly wrote me a glowing endorsement letter.

Again, how a person responds is based on their belief systems, their self-worth, confidence,

courage, and desire. My maintenance unit had several minorities in the demography. Both
commanders were White with obvious different upbringings. There is a greater comfort level
with more minorities in a group and a higher probability that someone will speak out against
injustice, however, the institutional racism has not been addressed nor the individual biases.

In your opinion, or based on your experience, is there a difference for a black person going
through pilot training compared to a white person? If so, do you feel that the difference
positively or negatively impacts the success of black student pilots?

Based on my experience and from my perspective, Yes, there appeared to be a difference.
Compassionate instructors expect more and pushed the minorities harder knowing that in their
careers more would be expected of them than their majority counterparts. This falls into the
category of duality, positive and negative, depending on the attitude of the minority.

Describe/detail the flight training you (if any) prior to Air Force flight training (ACE camps,
Young Eagles incentive flights, ground school, etc. and describe how it may have impacted
your success in Air Force flight training.
I personally had zero flight training prior to entering the Air Force. My first airline flight was to
Basic Training. In Officer Training School (OTS), 1973, I went through the Flight Screening
Program (FSP) between my upper and lower-class Officer Training. It was 3-weeks at Hondo, TX
flying the T-41 Mescalero or Cessna 172. It was 10-hours of flying with appropriate ground
school and the requirement to solo at 9 hours. I passed with no problems.

Sharing your experiences/thoughts. Please use this section to share any experiences or
thoughts on this topic from your experiences, the experiences of others, etc. that you feel are
relevant to the of the experience of black student pilots in Air Force pilot training.

My initial T-37A flight instructor in pilot training was good but not real challenging. I blew out
my sinuses while flying with a stuffy nose – good lesson. When I returned, I was paired with a