FWIW, I found old squadron mates, some of whom I had not spoken to in 15+ years, to be incredibly gracious about info and a letter of recommendation. I also was able to find a lot of folks I didn't realize were hired somewhere. Huge resource.

On one in particular, we had maybe 3 months of overlap before he retired, but he wrote a very kind recommendation, as if he had sought me out for help!

Everyone hired in the industry knows how the game is played. I didn't have one email go unanswered. Good luck!