Captain Royce Williams was decorated with the Navy Cross yesterday (20 Jan) in San Diego by SECNAV:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-gun-shot-down-4-170646332.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-gun-shot-down-4-170646332.html
I honestly wonder if at the very beginning, it used to be a lot looser with regard to both who was an NFO and how they got qualled. And whether, like you said, he'd earned observer wings and then swapped them out after some NAVADMIN or other.I saw a photo of a shadowbox in his home. Displayed pilot, NFO, SWO and aircrew wings. I assume the SWO pin is the result of a Qual earned on a disassociate tour before they put an end to it. Aircrew wings? He is of an era before NFO wings and he may have had the very similar looking Observer wings, pinning NFO wings when they came along. The real twist to his career is how a fighter pilot in Korea manages to fly as a NFO and essentially retires as a pilot.
I also imagine there may have been periods of RIFs with surges for Korea, draw downs and then Vietnam, etc. It may have been he stayed on active duty and avoided a RIF by taking NFO orders.I honestly wonder if at the very beginning, it used to be a lot looser with regard to both who was an NFO and how they got qualled. And whether, like you said, he'd earned observer wings and then swapped them out after some NAVADMIN or other.
I saw a better shot of his uniform elsewhere (retirement photo maybe?). They definitely are NFO wings. Here’s a bio that says he has 250+ NFO hours and says he was “the first NFO CAG,” but doesn’t identify the platform/why he would have earned the wings.
I saw a photo of a shadowbox in his home. Displayed pilot, NFO, SWO and aircrew wings. I assume the SWO pin is the result of a Qual earned on a disassociate tour before they put an end to it. Aircrew wings? He is of an era before NFO wings and he may have had the very similar looking Observer wings, pinning NFO wings when they came along. The real twist to his career is how a fighter pilot in Korea manages to fly as a NFO and essentially retires as a pilot.