Oldest AETC active duty instructor pilot retires

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Jhanelle Haag
  • 47FTW/PA
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Any given day you can look up at the sky over Laughlin Air Force Base and see the future of the Air Force.

Going top speeds and experiencing g-force's student pilots and their instructors fill the skies in the T-6A Texan, T-38 Talon, and T-1A Jayhawk. For many of the young students the g-force doesn't affect their bodies.

Among them in the sky is an instructor pilot defining the odds and putting the same pressure on his body that students almost half his age are doing.

Lt. Col. Tom "Calvin" Kline, a 55-year-old T-38 instructor pilot with the 87th Flying Training Squadron, and the oldest active duty Air Education and Training Command IP in the Air Force took off on his final flight March 21, 2014, on Laughlin Air Force Base.

The flight line was filled with smiling student pilots and fellow IP's waiting for Kline to land. As Kline started to dismount his plane, his colleagues, with laughter, set out a walker for him. Then the classic "fini flight" shower began with Kline sprinting away from the hoses.

Shortly after landing was Kline's retirement ceremony with Lt. Col. Randy Oakland 87th, Flying Training Squadron commander officiating.

"Today we are all here to honor an extraordinary man," said Oakland. "Just to put things into perspective, Calvin graduated from Marine Corps ROTC in 1981. Most of our senior captains weren't even born yet."

After joining Naval Reserve Officer Training Command at Iowa State University he realized if he couldn't fly he wanted to have some type of career in the Marine Corps, Kline explained.

Kline received his commission on May 23, 1981 with the Marine Corps and began his career as a student pilot flying the T-28B.

Over the period of 1981 to 1993, Kline fought in the first Gulf War and flew numerous missions over the Pacific Ocean in the AV-8B Harrier.

On Nov. 1, 1993 Kline retired from the Marine Corps due to downsizing within the military and entered into inactive reserve status.

Kline came to Laughlin in Nov. 1996 as a simulator instructor and in 1999 commissioned into the Air Force Reserves.

"When I entered the reserves it was really a dream come true," said Kline. "Being able to teach students in the simulators during the week and then getting to fly in the T-38 that weekend, I wanted someone to pinch me."

Then on May 31, 2009, Kline retired from the reserves. He didn't know at the time but his career as a pilot was not over yet.

In April 2010, Kline received a phone call to re-enter active duty through the retired rated recall program. The program was initiated by the Secretary of the AF to meet critical shortages created from the rapid expansion of unmanned aircraft systems and other emerging missions that required rated officers.

After requalifying in the T-38, Kline volunteered for deployment and had the opportunity to fly in the MC-12 for Operation Enduring Freedom.

During his service, Kline flew more than 6,000 hours with 976 of those hours combat related.

"Calvin has done things that some of us will never have the opportunity to do," said Oakland. "He fought in two wars separated by 20 years."

In 1991 he fought in Desert Storm flying a harrier, and 2011 Operation Enduring Freedom in a MC-12.

He served for a combined 32 years in the Marine Corps and Air Force.

Kline will once again continue training the future flyers of the Air Force as a civilian SIM instructor.