Aviator
Since Uchtdorf faced conscription into the newly formed Bundeswehr he chose instead to volunteer for the West German Air Force in 1959, aged 19, to become a fighter pilot. Due to an agreement between the West German and US Governments, Uchtdorf trained as a fighter pilot in Big Spring, Texas where he excelled, earning the coveted Commander's Trophy (USAF) for being the best student pilot in his class. After earning wings from both the German and US Air force, he served for 6 years as fighter pilot in West Germany, leaving in 1965 to join Lufthansa Airlines. By 1970, at 29 years old, Uchtdorf had reached the rank of Captain with Lufthansa. He was appointed in 1975 as head of Lufthansa's new Arizona Training School, then in 1980 he was made head chief pilot of cockpit crews and then senior vice president of flight operations in 1982. He left Lufthansa in 1996, two years after being called to the Quorums of the Seventy.
Read more about this topic: Dieter F. Uchtdorf