On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:28:32 GMT, (Henry Spencer)
wrote:

In article ,
Eddie Valiant wrote:
...In fact, all the Apollo commanders with the
exception of Shephard had commanded Gemini flights which I think may
have given them the nod for a command in Apollo.

To some extent, I think it's the other way 'round: these were people that
Slayton thought well of, and that put them at the top of the list for both
Gemini and Apollo.

Really? I would think that an earlier command in Gemini played some
part in their eventual selection as Apollo commanders, wouldn't it?
While I'm not discounting Slayton's tendency to utilize people he
thought well of in command positions, was it really his overriding
motivation in filling those slots?

In fact, it put them at the top of the list for selection in the second
batch of astronauts, too. Slayton wasn't really interested in scouring
the services for people -- he wanted specific guys, guys he knew
personally to be good or had recommended to him by people he trusted.

Eddie V.