Alford joined the Army Corps, in 1943, as a pilot cadet. He received his pilot wings in 1944, and fought overseas during World War II and in Korea as a B-17 pilot. He became a test pilot for Boeing in 1954, and was responsible for the Boeing Minuteman ICBM and the Saturn V moon rocket programs. He became President of the struggling Boeing Wichita Company in 1977, and quadrupled its employment within the next six years.