>>176533, >>176534, >>176535, >>176536
Buzz Patterson @BuzzPatterson - I don’t think I’ve ever told this story. “Why I joined the Air Force.” I remember a young staffer at the White House asking me once but she was so condescending and rude that I didn’t bother.
In any event, here we go. I was a graduate student in economics at Virginia Tech after graduating with a bachelor’s in political science. My goal was to follow on to law school with hopes of getting into corporate law.
Going to law school after 6 years of education was going to be pricey, though. As I applied to various schools, I started looking at how I was going to pay for it. We had student loans back then but it wasn’t the grift that it’s become.
I discovered that the United States Air Force had a program that would pay for law school if I committed to 4 years as an active duty JAG. Sounded like a great opportunity.
Concurrently, President Reagan was elected to his first term and launched into a massive rebuilding of the “hollow military”created by Jimmy Carter.
I found a local USAF recruiter, took all the required entry exams, and went in to talk with him. The Army and Marine guys hit me up but I wasn’t interested in combat. My recruiter was a great guy but I realized years later he was just filling quotas. The combat thing appeared quickly! Two years later, I was dropping the 82nd Airborne off in Grenada.
He said, “based on your scores, you are accepted into the law school program.” He then said, “you also scored remarkably high on the pilot portion. (I’d never flown anything in my life and didn’t care). “If you’d consider going to pilot training we’ll honor your law school commitment, if you don’t like it.”
So, “this sounds win-win,” I thought. And they’d pay me.
A few months later, I was on my way to San Antonio, Texas, for initial pilot screening program (FSPOT) and Officer Training School (OTS). Immediately after graduation, I was assigned to Columbus AFB, Mississippi, for a year of pilot training. And then to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina.
The rest is history.
Best decision I’ve ever made (other than marrying Nichole) in my life.
Never went to law school.
https://x.com/BuzzPatterson/status/2026328760828719181

Cam Higby @camhigby - This needs to be viral.
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