I have family and friends that were military pilots (of WW II vintage through to the 1990s) and would argue that the shared style is due to factors other than i

I have family and friends that were military pilots (of WW II vintage through to the 1990s) and would argue that the shared style is due to factors other than imitation. Among them: • 1930s - 1960s (perhaps beyond) military pilots were selected by a highly meritocratic process that corrected for disparities in wealth, class and education (but not race, gender, sexual orientation). As a result, there were large numbers of pilots raised in poverty, with no college degree, & strong regional accents. These individuals became officers and then seeded the commercial airline culture that exists today. • By the late 50’s at least, the military strongly selected for a particular personality type. All candidates for flight school were given psychological assessments. Among the factors selected for was how they reacted in emergency situations. Having lived among pilots all my life, I can absolutely confirm a tendency to remain absurdly unexcited by physical danger and fast-moving crises of any type. They also tend to under-react to situations that require resolution but that lack the same crisis atmosphere. Anecdotal, but in summary my guess is the military developed a template and Yeager was an exemplary fit.