Originally Posted by
F4E Mx
Brigadier General James Stewart , probably the most famous USAF pilot after Chuck Yeager, never went to Army AF UPT school. He already had a Commercial rating and a lot of flying experience so the Army sent him to Instructor Pilots school instead. The AAF had a Service Pilot program in WW II for experienced pilots and who were over the age limit for the regular program. They were supposed to be in non-combatant flying duties like instruction and cargo flying. Stewart maneuvered his way around that limitation as well.
Charles Lindbergh went to the Pacific as an “advisor” who was not supposed to fly in combat....but he did anyway, and shot down enemy planes.
Lindbergh In World War II