3 ms·

Many of the best pilots in history had no university degrees. Chuck Yeager famously had none. Jacqueline Cochran had none. Amelia Earhart dropped out of Col

Many of the best pilots in history had no university degrees. Chuck Yeager famously had none. Jacqueline Cochran had none. Amelia Earhart dropped out of Columbia. Charles Lindbergh dropped out of UW-Madison. Howard Hughes dropped out of Rice. Hanna Reitsch dropped out of medical school at Kiel. If the idea is simply use willingness to pay for / put up with university as a proxy to test seriousness and dedication, why not ask prospective aviators to get full-face tattoos? Surely that stunt would prove more dedication than a college degree, and waste less of everybody's time.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
larkost 8y ago
One of the arguments for pilots to be officers is that they are the ones who ultimately make the final decision on dropping bombs. The U.S. Air Force took a heavy mental beating over the horror of indiscriminate bombings it conducted in the Vietnam War (that was not a war...), and has internalized it. The thinking is that officers are personally responsible for the command decisions that they execute. If you are ordered to do something you think is illegal it is your responsibility as an officer to refuse. Enlisted are not expected to be held to this requirement. I understand the realities of things, but this is the theory. The tie-in with a university degree is that that is supposed to have exposed you to enough other thinking that you are better (not to be confused with "well") prepared to make those sort of decisions.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  The supposed connection between ethical behavior and university degrees is totally spurious. It's a post-hoc justification for blatant class discrimination, plain and simple. I recommend you dig into the life of Jacqueline Cochran in particular; she was far more than merely one of the best pilots to have ever lived.

3 ms·

Many of the best pilots in history had no university degrees. Chuck Yeager famously had none. Jacqueline Cochran had none. Amelia Earhart dropped out of Col

by darkpuma 8y ago

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
larkost 8y ago
One of the arguments for pilots to be officers is that they are the ones who ultimately make the final decision on dropping bombs. The U.S. Air Force took a heavy mental beating over the horror of indiscriminate bombings it conducted in the Vietnam War (that was not a war...), and has internalized it. The thinking is that officers are personally responsible for the command decisions that they execute. If you are ordered to do something you think is illegal it is your responsibility as an officer to refuse. Enlisted are not expected to be held to this requirement. I understand the realities of things, but this is the theory. The tie-in with a university degree is that that is supposed to have exposed you to enough other thinking that you are better (not to be confused with "well") prepared to make those sort of decisions.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  The supposed connection between ethical behavior and university degrees is totally spurious. It's a post-hoc justification for blatant class discrimination, plain and simple. I recommend you dig into the life of Jacqueline Cochran in particular; she was far more than merely one of the best pilots to have ever lived.