NASA astronaut Alvin Drew was born to fly

Why is he different from any other astronaut,
and why dies NASA 'owe' him a flight if
the program is cut back?

It's mighty disturbing to me to see NASA
adopting the policy of 'the more inexperienced the better'
to future flight crews, grounding well-trained and
experienced men and women in order to 'spread the wealth'
to rookies who themselves will likely only fly once in their
entire careers.

This is downright hazardous, in my curmudgeonly view...


"Jacques van Oene" wrote in message
...
Marta Metelko
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 17, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-1642)

Doug Peterson
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/244-8406)

RELEASE: 05-050

NASA ASTRONAUT ALVIN DREW WAS BORN TO FLY

Alvin Drew didn't always want to be an astronaut, but after watching
the Apollo 7 mission, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. At the
ripe old age of 5 and a half, Drew decided he wanted to fly in space.

Drew was born and raised in Washington. He credits his parents and
teachers
with his success. They, according to Drew," had to suffer me most during
my
growing up, but they also had the greatest influence. They impressed on
me,
not only that I could do anything in life I wanted, but that I also had an
obligation to pursue things that inspired me."

Drew's flying career began at the United States Air Force Academy. He
received his commission as a second lieutenant in May 1984. He completed
Undergraduate Helicopter Pilot Training and earned his wings at Fort
Rucker,
Ala. in March 1985.

His initial assignment was to the HH-3E helicopter flying combat rescue.
He
transitioned to the MH-60G helicopter and was assigned to the Air Force
Special Operations Command. He flew combat missions in operations Just
Cause, Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Provide Comfort. He completed USAF
Fixed-Wing Qualification in April 1993 and the United States Naval Test
Pilot School in June 1994. He has commanded two flight test units and
served
on the Air Combat Command Staff. He is a Command Pilot with 3000 hours
flying time in more than 30 types of aircraft.

In July 2000, Drew was selected as a mission specialist by NASA and
reported
for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of
training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut
Office Station Operations Branch, Houston. He will serve in technical
assignments until assigned to a space flight.

Throughout his career, Drew has been awarded a number of special honors;
Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster; Air Medal; Aerial
Achievement Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal
with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Force Achievement Medal; Air Force
Outstanding
Unit Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters; Combat Readiness Medal with 5 Oak
Leaf
Clusters; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal;
Southwest Asia Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Drew has worked hard throughout to achieve his goals and advises young
people to,"...understand any goal is attainable, but it becomes a matter
of
how hard you have to work at it. The sooner you know what you want to do
or
want to be in life, and the sooner you start working at it, the more you
can
spread out the work, so no one challenge is insurmountable. But, no matter
what your pursuits in life, having good habits in studying, staying fit
and
healthy, and developing good character will always aid you on your
journey."

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-


--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info

"Jim Oberg" wrote:
Why is he different from any other astronaut, and why dies
NASA 'owe' him a flight if the program is cut back?

It's mighty disturbing to me to see NASA adopting the policy
of 'the more inexperienced the better' to future flight crews,
grounding well-trained and experienced men and women
in order to 'spread the wealth' to rookies who themselves will
likely only fly once in their entire careers.

NASA has a grand tradition of mismanaging astronauts.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Alvin Drew is a very nice guy. He gave a talk, along with several
others including Apollo 16 astronaut John Young, at the 35th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing at JSC. John Young spoke of
the past, others' talks concerned the present with the Genesis and
Stardust missions, and he talks about the future of spaceflight and
where we're headed. Here's a picture of him. I'm standing immediately
to his right.

http://georion23.com/images/homeplac...jsc/group1.jpg

--Heather
georion23.com

wrote ...
Alvin Drew is a very nice guy. He gave a talk, along with several
others including Apollo 16 astronaut John Young, at the 35th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing at JSC. John Young spoke of
the past, others' talks concerned the present with the Genesis and
Stardust missions, and he talks about the future of spaceflight and
where we're headed. Here's a picture of him. I'm standing immediately
to his right.

I don't doubt he's a competent astronaut trainee and a nice guy.

None of these reasons seem adequate to justify grounding an
experienced astronaut, easier to train, likely to be safer in flight,
rather than giving him and his army of rookies access to the experience.

Jim Oberg ) wrote:

: wrote ...
: Alvin Drew is a very nice guy. He gave a talk, along with several
: others including Apollo 16 astronaut John Young, at the 35th
: anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing at JSC. John Young spoke of
: the past, others' talks concerned the present with the Genesis and
: Stardust missions, and he talks about the future of spaceflight and
: where we're headed. Here's a picture of him. I'm standing immediately
: to his right.

: I don't doubt he's a competent astronaut trainee and a nice guy.

: None of these reasons seem adequate to justify grounding an
: experienced astronaut, easier to train, likely to be safer in flight,
: rather than giving him and his army of rookies access to the experience.


Affirmative action, 8-A firms, etc.

Like it or not, it is what is.

Eric