Lloyd 'Boots' Boothby, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, 75

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Lloyd "Boots" Boothby, an Air Force lieutenant colonel who became the
first commander of a special squadron to drastically improve combat
readiness during the Vietnam War, died November 26, 2006, at his home
in Las Vegas, Nevada, from cancer, at the age of 75.

Col. Boothby, a native Washingtonian, joined the Air Force in 1953 and
was a flight instructor and highly decorated Vietnam War combat pilot.
His final active-duty assignment was at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.,
from 1968 to 1973.

At Nellis, he helped shape the "Red Baron" report that analyzed why Air
Force combat pilots during the Vietnam War had far worse kill ratios
against the enemy than Air Force pilots during the Korean War. One
finding was that many Korean War pilots were also experienced veterans
of World War II.

Col. Boothy advocated a program of "aggressor squadrons" to simulate
warfare with Soviet MiG fighter aircraft and give pilots more flying
time in dogfights.

He debriefed pilots all over the world with combat hours against MiGs
to develop training recommendations. In 1972 he created and commanded
the first aggressor squadron, the 64th Fighter Weapons Squadron at
Nellis.

"I'd hate to see an epitaph on a fighter pilot's tombstone that says,
'I told you I needed training,' " he said in one of many speeches to
promote the costly new program. "How do you train for the most
dangerous game in the world by being as safe as possible?"

His decorations included two awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross,
11 awards of the Air Medal, the Purple Heart and the Air Force
Commendation Medal.

Lloyd Warren Boothby was a graduate of Fork Union (Va.) Military
Academy and a 1953 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,
New York.

After his military retirement, he had a long career booking large
conventions in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel and the Las Vegas
Hilton.

His marriages to Colet Kiefer Boothby and Elizabeth Boothby ended in
divorce.

Survivors include his wife of four years, Joyce Boothby of Las Vegas,
Nevada; two daughters from the first marriage, Diane Boothby of Oak
Creek, California, and Colleen Boothby of Takoma Park, Maryland; a
brother; and three grandchildren.