[2] He flew F-84 Thunderjets, F-86s and F-100 Super Sabres in Europe, then in 1958 trained at the USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base.

[1] He was an F-100 instructor pilot at Luke AFB, Arizona, from July 1969 to January 1970, when he was given command of the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, the first USAF unit to fly the A-7 Corsair.

On 25 April 1980, as a major general, Bond read out President Jimmy Carter's eulogy at a memorial service for the eight American servicemen who died in Operation Eagle Claw, the unsuccessful U.S. attempt to free hostages held by Iran.

[2] On 26 April 1984 Bond, who was about to retire, made a farewell visit to "an Air Force Systems Command unit"[6] believed to have been the 6513th Test Squadron, Red Hats, at Groom Lake.

Bond lost control,[nb 3] made a distress call ("I gotta get out of here") and was then killed in the ejection, when the slipstream broke his neck and shredded the canopy of his parachute.

The aircraft crashed in the desert, diving in at a 60° angle[13] and impacting on what is now known as Jackass Flats, part of Area 25 that was still contaminated from NERVA nuclear rocket testing years before.

[15][19] When Time magazine reported on the accident and the rumors of the U.S. MiG program, the USAF was forced to reveal that it was flying Soviet aircraft.

[22] Maintaining the Soviet ejection seats included reverse engineering the pyrotechnic cartridges which fired them, as these had a relatively short life and had to be replaced regularly as the chemicals degraded.

[17][19] Lieutenant Colonel James Tiley, commander of the Red Hats, was reassigned in July, though it is a matter of debate whether this was related to Bond's death.