41 Fair empl.prac.cas. 559, 41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,430 Thomas Y. Palmer v. The United States of America United States Department of Agriculture John R. Block, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture Charles W. Philpot Johnathan C. Colville Robert W. Harris Craig C. Chandler Charles Roberts and Georgia Sherman

794 F.2d 534 41 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 559 , 41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,430 Thomas Y. PALMER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The UNITED STATES of America; United States Department of Agriculture; John R. Block, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture; Charles W. Philpot; Johnathan C. Colville; Robert W. Harris; Craig C. Chandler; Charles Roberts; and Georgia Sherman, Defendants-Appellees. No. 85-5526. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued Nov. 8, 1985. Decided July 18, 1986. John S. Adler, San Diego, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. Kathryn A. Snyder, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Diego, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Before JAMES R. BROWNING, WIGGINS and BRUNETTI, Circuit Judges. BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellant Thomas Y. Palmer ("Palmer") appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellees on Palmer's claim of discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. We affirm. I. FACTS 2 Palmer, now sixty-two years of age, was hired by the United States Forest Service in December 1967. He holds a masters degree in meteorology. He was initially…