1. No category

7ll
The Outstanding
8 Y C .\PT.
R( X;ER
F. RET\II- { RDT.
.1 srud,t'of 105.superioriet pilots aged 20 to
10 )eors revealed Ihat most were frstborn
children with unusuolly close father-son reIat io nship.s. They wer e s elf-c o nfd en t. .sho wed
a greal de.tirefor challengeand success.were
nol intro.tpeclive.and tended toward interper.sonaland entotionaldi.stance.
The author
t'itesinrplication.s
for populotioncontrol und
smoll .lanrilies.IIe feels that we should give
nr0re atrention to the signifcance o.l birth
ordt'r anrl .specifc parental inJluencein regard to othergroups.
f \ 1967 AND 19 68 ,co mm r nding of f ic c r s
| . of represcntrtiveNavv jet s qur dr onswer e
l s k ed to select the most out s t andingf r om
a m ongt he up pe rtcn th o f th eir av iat or s .Bot h
f i g ht erand lig ht a ttack (F4. F8, A7, and A' 4
i ri rcraft)sq ua dro nswe re included;bot h lir manshipand mo tiva tionwe r e c ons ider edin
makingt he cho ice s.Fifty-sixper c entof t hos c
s e lect edwe re n ewly de sig na t edav iat or spr ep aring f or th eir first o pe rat ionals quadr on
t o ur. T he re main ing44 p er c enthad had at
l e r st one p reviou s tou r wit h oper at ional
s q uadrons.usua lly in sin gle - pilotjet s . They
ra n gedin ag e from 2 0 to 40 y ear s . Eac h of
t h e 105 pilots sele cte dwa s i nt er v iewedby a
p s ychiat rist for two or m or e hour s and
g i ven a batte ryof psycho logic al
t es t s .I n t his
p aper, both ba ckgro un d and ex am inat ion
an d d is c us s ed.
d ata w ill be ore se ntcd
S o cial I listo ry
lvtanyau tho rs(1 , 2 ) h aven ot edt hat anr ong
t h osc at t ainin ge mine ncein n um er ousf ields .
R . *l , t ( h . l 2 l rrl rn n u a l mccti ng of thc Am cr ican
Ps r c h i r t r i c ; .
-.i u ti o fl . S u n F re ncisco. Culif.. i\lay
il r 5 . r 9 7 0 .
A t t h c t i m c th i s p a p cr wa s wri ttcn Capt. Rcinhar dt
w a s c h i c f , p s y ch i a try a n d n cu ro l o g y division, U. S. Nav al A c r o s p a c c Mcd i ca l In s(i tu tc, Pcnsacola. FIa. Hc
h a s r c t i r c d f r o m th c Na vy: h i r p rcscnt r ddr css is 5.lO
T a n Sl c w o o d Dr.. P cn sa co l a .F l a . 1 2501.
T h c o o i n r o n s cro rcsscd h crci n u r c thosc of thc uuthor
und d o n o t n cce ssa ri l yrcfl cct th c vicws o[ thc Depar tmc n t o [ I h c N u vy.
I l)l
Jet Pilot
} IC.
U S:i
. his is true for jet
f ir s t bor nspr ed o m i n a t eT
pilot s as wc ll: 6 7 p er c e n t o f t h e 1 0 5s t u d i e <l
ar e f ir s t bor nc h i l d r c n . I t i s o f i n t e r e s tt h a t
t he s ev en or ig i n a l M e r c u r y a s t r o n a u t s( J ) ,
2l of t he f ir s t 2 3 a s t r o n a u t st o m a k e s p a c e
flights (4), 80 percent o[ a group of Air
For c e "m ilit ar y a c h i e v e r "p i l o t s ( 5 ) , 5 5 p e r c ent of 1, 100u n s e l e c t e dN a v y j e t p i l o t s , 5 5
per c entof a la r g e s a m p l eo f A r m y h e l i c o p t er pilot t r ainc e s( 3 ) , 4 7 p e r c e n to f a g r o u p
of 70 Nav y jet p i l o t f a i l u r e s ,a n d 4 7 p e r c c n t
of a 7, 184 r ec r u i t p o p u l a t i o n( 6 ) w e r e a l s o
firstborn.
Am ong t he 1 0 5 o u t s t a n d i n g j e t p i l o t s
s t udied, t he o v e r a l l o l d e s t / y o u n g e s tr a t i o
( ex c luding onl y c h i l d r e n ) w a s 4 . l : L T h e
r at io inc r eas e sf r o m 2 . 3 : l ( s i b s h i p so f t w o )
t o 5. 7:I ( s ibs h i p so f t h r e e )t o 1 0 . 5I: ( s i b s h i p s
of f our or m or e ) . O n l y c h i l d r e n w e r e l o u n d
in t he s am e pe r c e n t a g ea s i n a l a r g e r e c r u i t
populat ion- ni n e p e r c c n t ( 6 ) . I n t e r m e d i r t c
c hildr en wer e u n d e r r e p r e s e n t e db,u t n o t t o
s o gr er t an ex t e n ta s l a s t b o r nc h i l d r e n .
Two-thirds of the fathers had a backgr ound of s om e m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e ,b u t i t w u s
s ur pr is ing t ha t 8 5 p c r c e n t o I t h e m h r d
servedspecilicallyin the Navy. Ten perccnt
of t he pilot s h a d c a r e e r m i l i t a r y f a t h c r s .
t wo- t hir ds of w h o m w e r e a v i a t o r s .T h c l ': r t her sof an add i t i o n a lI I p e r c e n tw e r ef o r n r c r
m ilit er y av ilt o r s . S e v c n t ys s n 5 g s u l i v g1 v t : t '
t or f ailur es f r o r n t h e s a m e s q u a d r o n sw er c
s t udied c onc u r r e n t l y ;t h e y h a d w i t h d r r u t t
f r om f ly ingv ol u n t a r i l yo r h a d b e e ng r o u n d c t l
f or det er ior ati n uf l i g h t p e r f o r n t a n c eT. h c l : t '
t her sof les st h a n t h r e e p e r c e n to f t h i s f a i l u r c
gr oup wer eac ti v co r f o r m e r m i l i t a r y a v i a t t r r .
Nine per c ento f t h e o u t s t a n d i n gp i l o t s 'l 't '
t her s wer e at t o r n e y sa n d s e v e np e r c c n tw c r c
upper - lev elbu s i n e s se x c c u t i v e s :b o t h c i l t c .
gor ies wer e q u i t e c o m p e t i t i v e i n t h c i r l i t c
s t yles .
Ninc per c e n to f t h e p i l o t s r e p o r t e dl 'l r t h c t
dc pr iv at ion( n o f a t h e r o r i n - h o u s es u r r o - u r l t r
f or t hr ee or m o r c c o n t i n u o u sy e a r s o r l t r r
s hor t er per iod st o t a l i n g m o r e t h a n h a l f t h c
pre-collegeyears),as comparedwith 20 pcr'
127:6,
Anrer.J. Psl'chiat.
Detenherl9''l
c e n t o f t h e f a i l u r e g r o u p .S cve n ty- th r e p
e e r - g r o u p .Si n cea l l o f th e sefi g u r e sse e mh i g h . i r
c e n t r e o o r t e dt h a t t h e l 'r t hcr w a s th e m o r e sh o u l d b e n o te d th a t ( e xcl u d i n g co m b a t
s i g n i f r c a n tp a r e n t . F u r t h e r . typ i ca l fa th e r - l o sse s)5 6 p e r ccn to f a l l ca r ccr a vi a to r sw i l l
s o n r e l a t i o n s h i p s w e r e d r sti n g u i sh cdb y h a vc a t l e a st o n e e j e cti o n d u r i n g th ci r 2 0
t h e i r i n t e n s i t y a n d t h c q u :r n ti tyo f sh a r e d ycars of flying. Twenty-threepercent(again
a c t i v i t i e sd u r i n g t h e p r e <o l l e g eye a r s. Th e e xcl u d i n gco m b a t l o sse s)w i l l d i e i n a i r cr a ft
t i m e r e p o r t e d a s b e i n g i p e n t i n sh a r .d a cci d e n ts- '
A r cvi e w o f th e i r h e a l th r e co r d sr e ve a l e d
s p o r t . w o r k . a n d p l a y a c t i vi i i e sw a s so g r ca t
t h a t t h e i n t e r v i e w e r sw e r c i :t fi r st ske p ti ca l : th a t p i l o ts i n th e stu d y g r o u p vi si te d th e i r
b u t s i m i l l r s t a t c m e n t s wcr e r e p e a te d b y flight surgeons for all reasonsabout once
every tcn months and that only two percent
m o s to f t h e g r o u p .
E i g h t y - f o u r p e r c e n t o f t'r e stu d y g r o u p made visits as often as once evcry four
h a d n e v c r h a d a p e r s o n a l i n j u r y a cci d e n t m o n th s. Pi l o ts i n th e fa i l u r eg r o u psa w th e i r
( f r a c t u r eo r i n j u r y r e q u i r i n gh o sp i ta l i za ti o n ) , fl i g h t su r g e o n sa b o u t o n ce cve r y m o n th . a n d
a n d o n l y t h r e e p e r c e n t ga /e a h i sto r y o f tw e n ty p e r ce n t sa w th e m m o r e fr e q u e n tl y
m o r e t h a n o n e s u c h a c c i de r tt.Tw o p e r ce n t th a n tw i cea m o n th .
Si r ty- n i n e p e r ce n to f th e stu d y g r o u p e xr e p o r t e d o n c o r m o r e p o l i :e ci ta ti o n s fo r
r e c k l e s sd r i v i n g , c o m p a r e d w i th l l p e r ce n t p ccte d to m a ke a ca r e e r i n n a va l a vi a ti o n
o f t h e l a i l u r e g r o u p . C e r t a i n l yth cr e w a s l i t- ( g e n e r a l l y.tw o - th i r d s o f a l l n a va l a vi a to r s
t l e e v i d e n c eo f c o m p u l s i ve r i sk- ta ki n g o r l e a ve th e se r vi cea [te r th e i r o b l i g a te dti m e ) .
a l th o u g h fe w b e ca m ep i l o ts w i th th i s i n te n t.
. c o u n t e r p h o ba
i cc t i v i t y .
Am o n g th e r e m a i n i n g 3 l p e r ce n t, e q u a l
n u m b e r s p l a n n e d o n ca r e e r s a s a tto r n e ys.
, i l l i l i t u r y a n d F l y i n g l l i s t o 'y
I
p o l i ti ci a n s,a n d a i r l i n ep i l o ts.
. S e v e n t y - f o upr c r c e n to f th r :sa m p l er e p o r t. c d h a v i n gc h o s c nm i l i t a r y avr a ti o nsi m p l y a s Exa m i n a ti o n D a ta
a m a t t e r o f e x p c d i e n c y( f or ;u ch r e a so n sa s
Th e p i l o ts, w h e n i n te r vi e w e d ,h a d m u ch
c a r e e r e n h a n c e m e n t ,o f nce r sta tu s. e xtr a
. p a y ,o r b e c a u s ei t w a s t h e m o st a ttr a cti veo f m o r e th a n th ci r u n i fo r m s i n co m m o n -Th e y
, v a r i o u sm i l i t a r y o p t i o n s ) ."l Ve l l , I h a d m y w e r eth i n , a p p e a r e dp h ysi ca l l yfi t, w e r ew a r m
. d c g r e eb u t w a s n 't m a r r i e d o r r e a d yto se ttl e a n d d i r e ct i n th ci r m a n n e r ,a n d sp o ke w i th
d o w n i n t h e b u s i n e s sA
. n d I ;e a l l y fe l t I h a d w h a t se e m e dg r e a t ca n d o r a b o u t a n y p h a se
a m i l i t a r y o b l i g a t i o n . "T w en i y- th r e ep e r ce n t o f th e i r l i ve s u n d e r q u e sti o n .If th e y h a d a n
Itad long desired a career oiTeringdifficult, a i r o f su p r e m eco n fi d cn cei.t w a s ce syg o i n g
. e i n te r vi e ww a s
t o m p l ex , c h a l l e n g i n gs y s t e m i a; n d ta sks,a n d a n d w i th o u t o ste n ta ti o n Th
t h e y f i n a l l y s e l e c t e dm i l i t ar y a vi a ti o na s b e - se e n a s a n o th e r ta sk to d o w e l l . th e i n te r i n g c l o s e s t o m e e t i n gt h e sel e e d s. "Th e r e i s vi e w e r w a s q u i ckl y a cce p te da n d r e sp e cte d .
. 1c h a l l e n g et o u s e m y a i r p l a n ea s a w e a p o n s a n d th e j u sti fi ca ti o nfo r th e stu d y w a s q u i ckt y s t e m t o t h e b e s t o f m y ,r b i l i ty, w h i ch I l y u n d e r sto o d .
Th e p i l o ts w e r e g r a ce fu l i n th e i r m o ve c o u l d n o t f i n d i n o t h e rj o b s."
) A f t e r m a n y c o c k p i t h o ur s.h o w e ve r .b o th m en ts, h a d m o r e "p r e se n ce "th a n m o st. a n d
S o u p s f o u n d a s en s e o f ma ste r yo f, a n d u n i - w e r e fa vo r a b l ystr i ki n g i n th e i r a p p e a r a n ce .
Q t w i t h , t h c c o m p l e x m a n - l i r cr a ft u n i t o f Their "halo effect" on the interviewerr.vas
a n d sp e e d . fa m i l i a r to th e m . l o r i t w a s u su a lw h cn cve r
f t c a t v e r s a t i l i t y .m a n e u v e r a b r l i ty,
t e r so n s.N o n e o f th e p i frhis fecling is deeply gratifying, and many th e y m ct si g n i fi ca n p
Lrnt to be alone during flight. One pilot l o ts e vi n ce da n y i n tcr e st,a s a r csu l t o f th e
lrid, "This is the best and fastestfighter in intervicws. in further cxploration of intrafft world. and the beautyof it is that no one psychicor social problcms.It secmeda fast s t t a k e h o l d o f t h c c o n t r o l se xce p tm e , th e
lilot."
' B a s c d o n a c c i d c n t s t rt i s t i c s f ro m t h c U . S . N rv a l
p F i f t c e n p e r c c n to f t h e s tu d y g r o u p r e p o r tA v i a t i o n S a f c t y C c n t c r. N o rf o l k . V a . D u ri n g t h c . 1 2 (
to
ta
l
m
o
r
e
o
r
m
a
j
o
r
f
l
y
i
n
g
r
cci
d
e
n
ts
mo
n t h p e ri o d c n d i n g D c c c mb c r 1 9 6 9 , t h c rc w a s o n c
!donc
v c ry 7 . 1 2 2 n o n c o mb a t j c t h o u rs a n d o n e f a l p r s o f a i r c r a [ t ,u s u a l l y b y cj ccti o n )a s co m - ct aj cl ict y(i ocnv cery
1 7 . 6 2 9 n o n c o mb a t h o u rs . O v c r a 2 G y c a r
f , r e d w i t h 2 l p e r c e n to f t h e o ve r a l l j e t p i l o t c a rc c r. t h c t y p i c a l j c t n a v a l a v i a t o r w i l l f l y a b o u t . t . 0 0
pPulation and 14 pcrcent of thc failure h o u rs .
! l7;6, DecenrL,er
1970
frnr. L Psychiat.
t lll