AFROTC, 1976, soloed in the AF Pre-UPI private pilot's training
course. Shirt tail got cut off.
Just a thought as to origins:
there is a fairly old phrase that I know was in use in the 1920's and
the phrase was" "shirtailed kid". Meaning young, wet behind the ears
etc.
So perhaps losing the shirtail was a way of saying you've graduated
from "kid" to "adult".
--- Gregg
"Improvise, adapt, overcome."
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
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