In 1941 the U.S. Army decided to use gliders to transport airborne soldiers. Aircraft for that purpose were being developed, but the Army had no idea how to train the pilots. During the 1930s soaring or flying sail planes became a growing sport. Tapping civilian sailplane pilots as instructors seemed reasonable but it wasn't. The goal of sailplane pilots is to maximize time aloft, while the Army glider pilots would want to be on the ground ASAP.