Originally Posted by
UnderOveur
. . . Power's was flying for the CIA at the time, having already been discharged from the USAF. Did you know? He went into the CIA at GS-12. " Once again I learn some new things thanks to your post(s).
Powers, like other CIA U-2 pilots was "sheep dipped." (
HowStuffWorks "11 Terms Used by Spies" ). If CIA pilots returned to USAF active duty they lost no time in grade for promotion or years credited toward retirement.
The first CIA U-2 USSR overflight was flown by Hervey Stockman. He was a WWII P-51 pilot, CIA U-2 Pilot, and USAF F-4 pilot who was shot down and lived in the Hanoi Hilton for years. The Vietnamese and their USSR sponsors never knew they had the first U-2 overflight pilot in the "palm of their hands." He retired as a Col.
R.I.P. Hervey Stockman, First Pilot to Fly a Spy Plane Over Soviet Territory
There were 24 CIA U-2 USSR overflights between July 4, 1956 and May 1, 1960. Twenty two of them were flown by CIA pilots. Two were flown by ACTIVE DUTY ROYAL AIR FORCE PILOTS.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1285189.html