American Notes AIR FORCE

In the 1986 hit movie Top Gun, Actor Tom Cruise embodied the image of the modern, macho fighter pilot: close-cropped hair, aviator sunglasses and, of course, the classic brown leather flight jacket. Unlike Navy flyers, like the one Cruise portrayed, Air Force pilots have not been issued leather jackets since the late 1940s. Last month the Air Force won congressional approval for a plan to supplement the current supply of synthetic jackets with genuine leather. Although several Congressmen grumbled about the $7.4 million cost, Air Force Chief of Staff General Larry Welch argued that the jackets will enhance esprit de corps and perhaps improve lagging rates of re-enlistment.