United States Air Force
McDivitt joined the United States Air Force in 1951 and retired with the rank of Brigadier General in 1972. He flew 145 combat missions during the Korean War in F-80s and F-86s.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot course and served as an experimental test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
He has logged over 5,000 flight hours, including flying as a chase pilot for Robert M. White's historic X-15 flight on July 17, 1962, in which White reached an altitude of 59.5 miles (95.8 km) and became the first to be awarded astronaut wings based on the USAF definition of 50 miles (80 km).
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