 The return was prompted by a personal request by [[Henry H. Arnold|General H. H. ("Hap") Arnold]], the chief of the [[United States Army Air Corps]] in which Lindbergh was a reserve colonel, for him to accept a temporary return to active duty to help evaluate the Air Corp's readiness for war.His duties included evaluating new aircraft types in development, recruitment procedures, and finding a site for a new air force research institute and other potential air bases.Assigned a [[Curtiss P-36 Hawk|Curtiss P-36]] fighter, he toured various facilities, reporting back to Wright Field.