• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Commentary: Military mourns cohorts lost on shuttle

by Brian Lepley

FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska (Army News Service, Feb. 5, 2003) - Six Army astronauts are mourning their colleagues of the space shuttle Columbia that disintegrated over Texas Feb. 1.

The U.S. military always provides NASA the great majority of its astronauts. Army astronauts are: Lt. Col. Jeff Williams, Col. Patrick Forrester, Col. Nancy Currie, Lt. Col. Timothy Kopra, Lt. Col. Doug Wheelock and Lt. Col. Timothy Creamer. Retired Army Col. Bill McArthur is also an active astronaut.

Two civilians died last weekend but five service members had the positions of most responsibility on Columbia: Air Force Col. Rick Husband, the mission commander; Navy Cmdr. William McCool, the pilot; and mission specialists Navy Cmdr. Laurel Clark, Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Anderson, and Navy Capt. David Brown. The seventh victim, Israeli Air Force Col. Ilan Ramon, was a hero fighter pilot who bombed Iraq's fledgling nuclear reactor June 7, 1981.

NASA turns to the military for its astronauts for many reasons. Mission commanders and shuttle pilots must be people of the highest possible ability, integrity, honor and achievement. Mission specialists, those primarily carrying out shuttle operations and experiments, also require these qualities.

It's no mystery why military officers with incredible flying talent, outstanding leadership skills, and scientific expertise are chosen for the astronaut program. The margin for error in space travel is razor thin. These men and women, officers with intensely specialized skills, serve their country for a relative pittance instead of chasing corporate riches. With every shuttle launch, they risk their lives to conduct complex experiments, yielding data that pushes science, health care, and telecommunications forward. The tasks they perform require at the greatest level of scientific expertise.

Getting the shuttle into space and back safely to earth is itself a hugely complex, risky maneuver. Heroic, unselfish reasons drew these officers to NASA: the chance to do remarkable, near-impossible tasks for the betterment of every person on earth.

NASA's active astronaut roster is down to 74 after last weekend. About two-thirds of those "best and the brightest" are military officers, including the six soldiers.

They all grieve, but despite their loss, NASA could ask every one of them if they wanted to get on the next shuttle for a mission tomorrow and they would have one answer: affirmative. That is the way of the soldier, the Marine, the airman, the sailor. Give me a mission; let me complete it successfully with my brothers and sisters in arms.

In the continuing post-disaster wake there will be accusations, fingers pointed, and a complete investigation into what went wrong six days ago. This process, while painful and searing, is necessary and just, a shining example of the liberties and freedoms the U.S. enjoys and represents to the world.

But while that process may be untidy, loud and hurtful to many, it will bring even more information that will contribute to the safety of space shuttle missions. It will ensure that the next time a space shuttle flies, maybe Williams, or Forrester, or McArthur will have a greater chance of returning to earth.

(Editor's note: Brian Lepley is the command information officer for U.S. Army Alaska. He can be contacted at brian.lepley@richardson.army.mil)