Ivan G Thompson

The Air Force's Black Pilot Training Experience - Air Force Black Pilot Ivan G Thompson

"The Air Force's Black Pilot Training Experience" highlights the unique experiences of black pilots in Air Force pilot training. The purpose of the book is to give the reader insight into these experiences, propose changes to the Air Force's conduct of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) and to show how the Air Force's inability to produce more black pilots directly contributes to the lack of diversity in its senior-most leadership levels. This book is a sequel to "The Air Force's Black Ceiling" and builds on its insights. As a sequel, the book exhorts the Air Force to continue and even expand its efforts to increase diversity in its senior-most positions. The book's final chapter is a call for the Air Force to expedite its staffing and approval of the honorary promotion to Brigadier General for famed Tuskegee Airmen Colonel Charles McGee. Col McGee is the only person in Air Force history to fly over 100 combat missions in WWII, Korea and Vietnam (409 total). He is a three-time squadron commander (two flying squadrons), a chief of maintenance for a fighter wing, a base commander, and the first African American to command a stateside wing after desegregation. Col McGee is also a highly decorated combat leader whose decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with Two Clusters, Bronze Star, and Air Medal with 25 Clusters.