Editing Francis Gary Powers (section)

==United States Air Force==
Powers enlisted in the [[United States Air Force]] in October 1950, initially working as a photo lab technician. He was accepted for flight training in November 1951, and was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[second lieutenant]] in December 1952 after completing advanced training on [[Lockheed T-33|T-33]] and [[Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star|F-80]] aircraft at [[Williams Air Force Base]] in Arizona. While assigned to gunnery school at [[Luke Air Force Base]], a bout of [[appendicitis]] delayed his training, and the [[Korean War]] ended by the time he graduated.{{sfn|Powers|Gentry|2004|p=7}} 

Powers was then assigned to the [[468th Strategic Fighter Squadron]] at [[Turner Air Force Base]], Georgia, as a [[Republic F-84 Thunderjet]] pilot. In October 1953, Powers was trained at [[Sandia Base]] in loading and dropping nuclear weapons from fighter aircraft, and in July 1954 was promoted to [[first lieutenant]]. Powers hoped to become a commercial airline pilot when his enlistment ended in December 1955, but decided to stay in the Air Force when he discovered he was, at the age of 26-and-a-half, at the age limit for commercial training.{{sfn|Powers|Gentry|2004|p=8}}