Space journalist Andrew Chaikin claims that, following the death of Gus Grissom, Borman became Slayton's choice to command the first Moon landing attempt. In the fall of 1968, Slayton offered command of the first landing to Borman, who turned it down. Long before Apollo8 lifted off, Borman had decided that it would be his last flight, and that he would retire in 1970. After twenty years' service in the Air Force, he would qualify for a pension. Borman told an interviewer in 1999 that "my reason for joining NASA was to participate in the Apollo Program, the lunar program, and hopefully beat the Russians. I never looked at it for any individual goals. I never wanted to be the first person on the Moon and frankly, as far as I was concerned, when Apollo 11 was over the mission was over. The rest was frosting on the cake."