considered to be equivalent in depth and scope to Elementary or Primary Flying Training under the USAAF and US Navy programs. Direct assignment of USAAF personnel currently rated as Pilots (including Service Pilots). This appears to have been a less commonplace source, and anecdotal indications from the relevant literature suggest they had usually volunteered for this duty. Civilian pilot volunteers. A private pilot certificate (or higher) and a minimum or 40 hours of flight time were required. Individuals falling short of the experience requirements demanded for the Service Pilot rating were often accepted as Liaison Pilots instead. Liaison Pilot School was conducted by the Department of Air Training of the Field Artillery School at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. The course placed particular emphasis on short-field and soft-/rough-field takeoffs and landings over obstacles, and low-altitude navigation. Their duties included transportation of troops and supplies, medical evacuation, aerial photography, and low-level reconnaissance. Graduates received Liaison Pilot wings. Personnel trained in-grade, with enlisted students being promoted to Staff Sergeant until September 1942, after which graduates were appointed as Flight Officers. Liaison Pilot Duties Liaison pilots flew light single-engine aircraft in direct support of Army Ground Forces units. Commissioned officers holding the Liaison Pilot Rating were eligible to command flying units equipped with liaison (L-series) aircraft only. Effective 4 February 1943, rated Glider Pilots were authorized to pilot liaison aircraft of 180 horsepower or less and to perform the same duties as Liaison Pilots. Notable former Liaison Pilots Charles "Bazooka Charlie" Carpenter, history teacher, destroyed six German tanks from a Piper L-4 Mayhew Foster, transported Hermann Göring from Germany to Austria for interrogation. Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr., father of broadcasting personality Rush H. Limbaugh III, commanded 25th Liaison Squadron Welton I. Taylor (Ph.D.), African-American microbiologist, author of Two Steps to Glory (2012, Winning Strategy Press, ) John Thornton Walker, personal pilot for Gen. Mark W. Clark Service Pilot Service pilots performed non-combat flying duties, including instruction, outside the theaters of operation. An image of the Service Pilot badge remains shown (at right) pending completion of new articles for all three ratings. Postwar (1945-1947) Following the close of World War II, these pilot badges fell into disuse and there were no further issuances. With the creation of the U.S. Air Force, these three aeronautical ratings became obsolete. Glider Pilot Legacy The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Soaring Instructor Pilots wear the Glider Pilot wings in