Profile: Lt. Col. Jim Bowman

Aviator, '81

A New "Flight Plan"

In an eerie coincidence, around Labor Day 2001, Lt. Col. Jim Bowman '81 heard about the Recall of Retired Aviators program. It was an effort to fill staff positions with experienced military pilots. The program appealed to him. His 11 months as a pilot with a major airline, while rewarding, lacked the sense of accomplishment he enjoyed in the Air Force.

The events of the following week forced his decision. He knew a crew member on one of the jets that hit the World Trade Center. Also, in 2000 he was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base (Mass.), and on 9/11 could have been one of the pilots scrambled had he not retired from the Air Force. Within six weeks he was back in the Air Force, full time. He served at NORAD and now is teaching flying and courses in combat air power at the United States Air Force Academy.

The events of 9/11 and the war on terrorism changed the second half of his working life. It's the second time world events have led him to reverse course. In 1981 Bowman graduated with a geology degree during a slump in the oil business. He decided to pursue his other passion, flying, by joining the Air Force.

As a fighter pilot, Bowman flew F-15s. Then he spent three years as an instructor pilot in the Massachusetts Air National Guard before moving his family back to Colorado. "I lived a little kid's dream, to fly fighters for 20 years straight. But it took a lot of hard work and dedication." Bowman credits much of his success to CC. "I can't put a price tag on how well CC prepared me for the Air Force. I owe it all to the Block Plan. Every Air Force course was front-end loaded [compressed]. The Block Plan taught me discipline, an absolute prerequisite for the military."

— Mary Ellen Davis '73