"Plus some O-6s that were transitioning to the F-4 for the first time that
were
pretty scary. A B-52 suadron CO that was going to an F-4 wing in Germany."

I can imagine that WOULD be scary. Why would the AF even bother spending a
lot of time/effort/$ to transition someone that senior to a hot two-seater?
Didn't they have anyone already in the F-4 "community" (don't know if they
use this term) that would be qualified for command?

"How they chose their COs still amazes me. Wing Commander picks his COs.
When the Wing Commander is new all sorts of O-5s show up suddenly to rush
those jobs."

Sounds like a process that might have been left over from the 1930s. This
explains a story I just read in the latest issue of Flight Journal some
F-86 pilots in Korea who flew across the Yalu in small flights after
switching to alternate channels and turning off transponders so they
couldn't be easily tracked. The author was obviously a bit ****ed off and
make a remark about squadron COs and Wing Commander's favorites. Now I know
what he meant.

I wonder if this is still USAF practice?

Was exchange duty with the AF considered a prize or a booby prize for USN
pilots? How about the other way around?

By the way, have you ever read the book, "Boyd - The fighter pilot who
changed the art of war"? I bet you have. Comments? I bet you have.

Thanks, Pechs.

Tom