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Bob received a commission in the
United States Marine Corps following graduation from Annapolis
in 1964. He attended the Marine Corps Basic School at Quantico,
Virginia, before reporting to the Navy Air Training Command for
flight training at Pensacola, Florida and Beeville, Texas.
Upon receiving his aviator wings in
August 1966, he was assigned to VMFA-513 at the Marine Corps Air
Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina, where the flew F-4
aircraft. He was subsequently assigned to VMFA-115 at Chu Lai
in the Republic of Vietnam, where he flew F-4s and completed 300
combat missions. In June of 1968, he served as an advisor to
the Republic of Korea Military Corps in Vietnam and flew 250
combat missions in 01 “Bird Dogs” and UH1 “Huey” helicopters.
Bob returned to the United States later in 1968 to attend the U.
S. Naval postgraduate School in Monterey, California, graduating
with a Master of Science Degree in Operations Research and
Systems Analysis in March 1971. Bob also attended the Navy
Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) while stationed at Beaufort,
South Carolina.
A 1975 graduate of the U. S. Navy
Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, he served as head
of the Ordnance Systems Branch and was a Test Pilot for more
than 20 different types of fixed and rotary-winged aircraft. In
this capacity he performed the first flights in the AH1T
helicopter. He graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in
Norfolk, Virginia in 1978 and was assigned to Headquarters Fleet
marine Force, Atlantic, where he assumed responsibility for
Joint Operational Planning for Marine Forces in NATO and the
Mid-East. He was serving as aide-de-camp/executive assistant
for the Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, when
advised of his selection by NASA.
While serving in the United States
Marine Corp, Bob received the Defense Superior Service Medal,
Legion of Merit, Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star,
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (2nd
award), Navy Achievement Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal,
Intelligence Achievement Medal, NASA Distinguished Service
Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy
Unit Citation and various Vietnam Campaign ribbons and service
awards.
Selected as an Astronaut candidate
by NASA in May of 1980, Bob became an Astronaut in August of
1981. His technical assignments have included support crew for
STS-3, concept development studies for the Space Operations
Center, and the coordination of various aspects of the final
development of the remote Manipulator System for operational use
as well as working in the Mission control Center as Orbit CAPCOM
for 7 flights in 1984 and 1985.
Bob was responsible for astronaut
office coordination of the Design Requirements Reviews (DRR) and
Design Certification Reviews (DCR). These review efforts
encompassed the total recertification and re-verification of the
NSTS prior to STS-26 return to flight status.
Bob was a mission specialist on the
crew of STS-29, which launched from Kennedy Space Center,
Florida aboard the Orbiter Discovery on Marcy 13, 1989. Bob
also served as a mission specialist on STS-38. The five-man crew
launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on
November 15, 1990. During the five-day mission crewmembers
conducted Department of Defense operations. In completing his
second mission, Bob has logged over 237 hours in space.
Subsequent to his retirement from
the United States Marine Corps and NASA, Bob was an executive
with The Boeing Company until his retirement in 2007.
Bob is an active member of the
Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Marine Corps Aviation
Association, and the United States Navel Academy Alumni
Association. He is also a member of the Operations Research
Society and the Military Operations Research Society. Bob was
named one of the Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Men in America in
1977. Bob has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for
Space is Special, a non-profit organization dedicated to using
the hands on applications of the space program to educate
children with learning disabilities. He has also served on the
Brevard County School Board and is on the board of Keep Brevard
Beautiful.
Bob is currently the President of
Vector Consulting, specializing in aerospace consulting and
motivational speaking.
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