Originally Posted by
WillCAD
Hm... don't the National Guard and the active military have hundreds of fully-qualified ATCs? I wouldn't be too sorry to see some of those folks called in to alleviate the difficulties in the towers, since they wouldn't be engaging in violations of travelers' civil rights or acting in any sort of security, law enforcement, or military capacity. I would see that situation as comparable to the NG engaging in rescue efforts after a natural disaster - they're out there not as warfighters or occupation/peacekeeping forces, but as rescuers and aid workers.
That's what happened when Reagan fired the PATCO strikers in 1981. Many Air Force ATCs were already working in towers at joint USAF/commercial airports. (Petersen AFB/COS and Kirtland AFB/ABQ quickly come to mind). Approach and departure controls in areas where military flying bases and commercial airports were close together were often jointly staffed. Many of the E-4s and E-5s separated and took the many now-vacant civil service ATC positions for considerable pay raises. They also were able to keep their military time and count it towards civil service retirement. These USAF folks were just as highly-trained and experienced as their civilian counterparts.