After graduation Perry was commissioned in the Air Force and became a pilot. This article by James Corum in The Telegraph (U.K.) makes the point that stupid people don't get through pilot training. Corum says:
You can’t have a low IQ and fly airplanes successfully. Winning USAF pilot wings and learning to fly a C-130 transport requires months of serious study. After Perry received his wings he had to prove his competence on a daily basis in a difficult and dangerous environment.
I have independent confirmation of this truth. A colleague, co-author and friend retired from academia about the same time I did. He then undertook training to get a private pilot's license with an instrument rating.
My friend says pilot training was very hard, more difficult than getting his Ph.D. on a University of California campus. I have no reason to doubt him.
