As part of the ongoing feud between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union recently made hay out of a government employee survey that rated the agency as the worst government department to work for. Kim Yee would beg to differ. While a lot of FAA employees might be ticking off the days until their 25 years are up (and they qualify for a healthy pension), Yee, after 60 years with the agency, as a technician on Guam, is hoping for another 23. Hes now 77 and says he figures 100 is a good age to retire, according to the Pacific Daily News. “I’m one of the luckiest people to be employed 60 years — with good pay,” he said.
Yee was born in Hawaii to Chinese immigrants and joined the Army as a paratrooper during the Second World War. After the war, he joined the Civil Aeronautics Administration as an electronics technician and has been looking after the radars and radio gear on the U.S.-held island ever since. And whether it was a reporters slip or Freudian barb, his immediate supervisor, System Support Center manager Randy Reeves, said Yee knows his stuff. “Kim showed me all the nuisances of radars,” Reeves is quoted by the Daily News as saying. Look it up if you dont believe us.
60 Years with the FAA
Key Takeaways:
- Kim Yee, an electronics technician on Guam, offers a stark contrast to the FAA's recent rating as the worst government department to work for, having spent 60 years with the agency.
- At 77, Yee expresses immense satisfaction with his job, citing good pay and luck, and plans to continue working until he is 100.
- A WWII veteran, Yee joined the Civil Aeronautics Administration (predecessor to FAA) after the war and continues to maintain critical radar and radio equipment, earning praise from his supervisor for his extensive knowledge.
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