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.