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Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 12, 2012
Numerous College of Engineering graduates have gone on to become decorated military members, and others have played key roles in supporting military operations. (You can find plaques commemorating Tech's veterans along the Wardlaw Center walkway on North Avenue.)
The AE program has produced numerous high-ranking military officials. They include Adm. James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2011. As a commander, he led task forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Another major military figure to emerge from Tech's AE program is Adm. James O. Ellis. He spent 39 years in the Navy, according to a biography from the National Space Symposium, serving in roles that included commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Ellis who holds a master's degree in aerospace engineering, is presently president and CEO of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations.
An AE alumnus who made huge contributions to the military was David Sloan Lewis, Jr. A 1939 graduate of the program, Lewis eventually became leader of General Dynamics and was instrumental in developing the F-16 fighter, according to the New York Times.
Some other notableTech veterans:
- Ray Davis, a chemical Engineering graduate, became a four-star general in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Word War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and his decorations include a Medal of honor for bravery.
- Brig. Gen. Peter Madsden has a Tech master's from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). According to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers biography, he served as executive officer to the chief of engineers from 1997 to 1998.
- Edward Aldridge, Jr. and John Young, Jr., both AE graduates, are both former under secretaries of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
- Ron Johnson, a retired two-story Army general, has a master's degree in industrial engineering from Tech. From 2003 to 2004, he oversaw the Corps of Engineers' in Iraq.
- Philip Breedlove, a four-star general and previous vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, is also an alumnus of CEE at Tech.
