James E. Kelm

ÿþService profile of James E. Kelm





After receiving my USAF commission through the AFROTC at the University of Oklahoma, I entered active duty on 1/5/56& .. One day prior to my 24th Birthday. One month later, I returned home, got married, and preceded to Bartow AFB, FL for primary flight training. My class, 57I, was the last AAAF class training in the T-6, and I was selected to fly the last official USAF training flight in the T-6 on graduation day. After jet basic training in Texas, F-86 gunnery at  Willie , and F-100 checkout at Nellis AFB, I served in 2 state side fighter squadrons before being transferred to Kadena AFB, in Okinawa for 4 years & then to Luke AFB, AZ as an F-100 instructor. While at Luke, I applied for & made it to the finals for the Thunderbirds & was Top Gun at the USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB, NV. Then it was off to a year in S. Vietnam where I flew 365 missions during 1967-68 I was hit by ground fire numerous times, but only had to eject once. This was followed by 4 years at the Pentagon & then on to A-7s at England AFB, LA. There I spent another 6 months in SEA & then was selected with 24 other fighter pilots throughout the Air Force to form a study group directly under the USAF Chief of Staff to determine the fighter force for the 1980s & beyond. Upon completion, I returned to England AFB where I was given command of an A-7 squadron. After a year & a half as Commander, I was selected to attend the 6 month NATO Defense at College in Rome, Italy, starting Sept 1 of 1975. Following I served as Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of NATO Airsouth Hqs., a USAF 2-star General, until May 1978. I was then reassigned to be the Base Commander at RAF Lakenheath, England, the 2nd largest air base in Europe. Realizing that I was not going to advance in fighter operations, I applied for, and received, an AFROTC Detachment Commander position at the University of Oklahoma, where it all started many years ago. I retired with the rank of Colonel on July 31, 1982, after 26 ½ great years!