F-106 DELTA DART

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ALUMNI PROFILE

LTCOL RALEIGH, TRUITT

RALEIGH, TRUITT
LTCOL
Pilot / Command Pilot
1967
1984
48th,5th
48FIS
Coming out of my Vietnam F4 tour in 1966, I was assigned to the 48FIS, where I decamped for 5 years, finishing up as the Six and T-bird StanEval and ACM/ACT chief. I next went to get a masters in Latin American Affairs followed by a posting to the Panama AOR where I wound up as the USAFSO executive officer, traveling aide-de-camp, and behind-the-lines O-2 pilot. On return to the States, went to 5th FIS, where I again wound up as the StanEval chief--this followed by tours on the ADTAC IG and later as the ANG air defense guy at the National Guard Bureau. At my 1984 retirement I was still flying both the Six and T-bird on weekends with my ANG units, which was to me, a very satisfactory career end. I went straight to People Express in NJ as a 727 flight engineer and pilot, and later flew the DC-10, finishing up as a 737 captain until my Continental Airlines retirement in 2001. I had picked up a law degree along the way and took on side gigs as an expert aviation witness in court cases and as a Fox News "talking head" about recent air crashes, including 9/11. On retiring, I went to work as an attorney for an aviation insurer in my neighborhood where I defended and settled cases for my insureds including Northwest Airlines, GE Aircraft Engines, and Honeywell International.  I took cases to the Supreme Courts of France and South Korea, and to an arbitration in London, winning in all 3 venues. I retired for the 3rd time, and now my wife Roberta and I sit contentedly on the balconies of our Red Bank, NJ, and Naples, FL condos watching the boats go by. Visit if you can.
Tasked in 1969 to create for the 48 FIS the first regularly-scheduled joint USAF- Navy DACT program in USAF, working with Navy F4 training RAG across the river. 48FIS troops used our recent experience flying against ROK F-5s in our S. Korea deployment to set up this "first-of-its-kind" AF-Navy dissimilar program.
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3/2/2020