 From 1959 to 1964 he was moved between several air force bases while studying, including a stint in the Directorate of range operations, Air Force Missile Test Center, Patrick Air Force Base.In 1964 he was then appointed as an instructor, in the Astronautics Department, of the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.After study at Purdue University, White became an associate professor of astronautics, at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1968, and was part of the scientific staff until the end of his active duty in 1973..