Checkpoints - December 2021: A Well-Deserved Honor

A Well-Deserved

HONOR

Academic building named after former NASA official, astronaut, pilot

By Jeff Holmquist

ol. (Ret.) Frederick Gregory ’64 thought it was a crank call. USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark ’86 was on the line and the conversation sounded unusually formal.

“He starts out by saying ‘Honorable Gregory.’ I said to him, ‘I’ve known you since you were 19,’” Gregory laughs. “Then he says they are going to name a building after me. I was just totally overwhelmed by the news.”

Gregory readily admits he had no idea where the building was located or what it housed inside. He quickly connected with his granddaughter, C1C Lauren Hazlett, to find out more about the previously named Consolidated Education and Training Facility (CETF) building that is adjacent to Fairchild Hall.

It turns out the building houses the Chemistry, Biology, Astronautical Engineering and Civil Engineering departments and laboratories — all subjects of interest throughout Gregory’s varied career. The building also includes the cadet medical and dental clinics.

Gregory’s first chance to tour the building came in mid-September, just days before the official renaming ceremony for Gregory Hall.

“It’s quite an honor, obviously, to be acknowledged this way,” he admits.

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EARLY INSPIRATION

Gregory’s parents were both teachers in Washington, D.C., when he was young. They had a circle of impressive friends who frequently visited the family’s house to share a meal and exchange stories. Gregory would sit at the feet of top tennis players and fighter pilots.

“There were people around me like Tuskegee Airman Benjamin Davis, who I only knew as Ben Davis and Agatha, his wife, but I had no idea who they were,” he recalls. “Without my knowledge, my life was being influenced and guided by these people.”

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“Our mission aims to educate and inspire warrior-scholars to lead our Air Force and Space Force to fight, win and deter tomorrow’s wars … and that is precisely what will happen within Frederick Gregory Hall.”

— Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre ’96

Also as a youngster, Gregory would frequently accompany his father to nearby Andrews Air Force Base to watch auto races and check out the airplanes parked on the ramp. On one occasion, he remembers talking to a young Thunderbird pilot, Lt. Wilbur Creech (who later attained the rank of general and commanded the Air Force Tactical Air Command), about the best route to becoming a demonstration pilot himself.

“They are building a school in Colorado, just under Pikes Peak,” Gregory remembers Creech saying. “That’s where you ought to go.”

Gregory knew a bit about Colorado. As a Boy Scout, he’d traveled several times to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and stopped by Colorado Springs to ascend Pikes Peak and hike through Garden of the Gods Park.

“To me, attending the Academy was like coming home,” he says. “I think I was destined to come here.”

CAREER ADVENTURES

Throughout his cadet years, Gregory admits he struggled academically.

“Cadet Gregory was not at the top of his class,” he laughs. “I clearly graduated in the upper three-quarters of my class.”

Still, he adds, the many leadership and character lessons he learned at USAFA prepared him well for the many adventures ahead.

Upon graduation, he launched into an Air Force career that would take him to unimaginable heights. Despite some rib-

bing from classmates who went off to become fighter pilots, Gregory chose a different path. He trained as a helicopter search-and-rescue pilot and served a tour flying the HH-43 in Southeast Asia, where he would earn the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Upon his return to the States, Gregory was given the chance to cross-train into fixed wing aircraft. He chose the F-4 and thought his goal of becoming a Thunderbird was back on track.

But just weeks before returning to Vietnam for a deployment in the F-4, Gregory was selected for test pilot school and trained at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland. He would complete both the fixed wing and rotary training in one fell swoop.

“I didn’t realize at the time how unique that was,” Gregory notes.

That unique set of skills would come in handy later, when Gregory applied to become a NASA astronaut.

“Gen. Ben Davis called me in 1976 and suggested that I apply for him personally and for the Tuskegee Airman,” Gregory says. “I asked him who the Tuskegee Airman were.”

As if he needed more convincing, Gregory recalls seeing a video featuring Nichelle Nichols — who played Lt. Ohura on the original Star Trek television series — encouraging minorities and women to apply for the new Space Shuttle program.

He remembers her pointing directly into the camera and saying “you” should apply.

“Others have claimed that she was speaking to them, but I know for a fact that she was speaking to me,” he says.

Gregory would go on to fly on three Shuttle missions — one each on orbiters Challenger (STS-51B), Discovery (STS33) and Atlantis (STS-44). His astronaut career would include 455 hours in orbit.

From 1992 to 2001, Gregory served as associate administrator of NASA, then as the first African American deputy administrator of the agency from 2002 to 2005.

He even served a short stint as acting NASA administrator in early 2005.

Gregory’s only career disappointment came while he was a test pilot. He conCheckpoints · December 2021 · 51

LEFT: USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark '86 (left) and Col. (Ret.) Frederick Gregory '64 unveil a new sign that was affixed to Gregory Hall. (Photos by Ryan Hall) RIGHT: Frederick Drew Gregory is a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and spent about 456 hours in space as a NASA astronaut. (NASA Photo)

tacted USAFA’s History Department and asked if he could finish his Ph.D. in military history and come back to teach at his alma mater.

“Not 10 minutes later, the chairman of the department called me and said the Air Force has just spent a phenomenal amount of money to teach me to be a test pilot,” Gregory recalls. “There was no way they were going to let me come here and be a history teacher.”

OFFICIAL CEREMONY

With Gregory’s family, friends, professional colleagues and fellow members of the Class of 1964 in attendance, Gregory Hall was officially christened on Sept. 16.

USAFA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark ’86 and Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre ’96 unveiled the sign that is now affixed to the newly named, 20-year-old building. It reads: “Gregory Hall … Recognizing the Accomplishments of Frederick Drew Gregory, Class of 1964. From rotary flight to NASA space adventures, the journey started here.”

Most building plaques start with the words “In memory of,” Gregory quipped.

He thanked the Academy for bestowing this honor upon him while he’s still alive.

As he recounted the highlights of his life, Gregory attributed his successes to 52 · usafa.org

the many people who influenced him, including his parents.

“I had family that encouraged me to do things that they had never done before,” he reported. “And I think my dad actually lived vicariously through my adventures.”

Gregory said he shares this special honor with all those who encouraged and mentored him along the way.

“Even though it’s going to say Gregory Hall, it’s all of these people together that created an environment that said ‘no’ is not a response. ‘Yes’ is the response,” he said.

“Go out and do something exciting. Do something that we don’t think is possible.”

Gregory admits he’s excited that the Academy’s main science and lab building will carry his name for years into the future.

“Gregory Hall is about learning, but it also allows you to think to the future … not the way it is but the way it will be,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Letendre indicated that there’s no USAFA graduate who deserves to have this building named after him or her more than Gregory.

“Our mission aims to educate and inspire warrior-scholars to lead our Air Force and Space Force to fight, win and deter tomorrow’s wars … and that is precisely what will happen within Frederick Gregory Hall,” Letendre said. “Our cadets will be inspired by you and by the legacy that you have left us. I have no doubt that

they will aim to live up to the path that you have forged for the members of our Long Blue Line.”

Lt. Gen. Clark echoed that sentiment.

“This is an important and historic occasion for our Academy,” he said. “Harmon, Arnold, Vandenberg, Fairchild, Sijan, Mitchell, Davis … when we name a physical structure on this campus after someone, it’s because they have lived our core values, and they have demonstrated the traits of leadership that we want our cadets to embody in their daily lives and in their careers.”

Lt. Gen. Clark noted that Gregory has demonstrated excellence in every role he held in the Air Force and NASA, and he serves as a prime example of an inspirational leader that future USAFA graduates should emulate.

“Mr. Gregory, sir, you have made history in your career, and you have shown our cadets what is possible,” he said. “The names of the buildings where our cadets study, sleep and eat — or the airfield where they learn to fly — are daily reminders of the examples that our most iconic leaders set in their careers. The obstacles they overcame. The hardships they endured.

The brilliance they brought to our force. I am proud that Gregory Hall will now join that list on this campus. And we’re grateful for all you’ve done for our Academy and for our great nation.”