Alvin Drew

Drew was born in 1962 in Washington, D.C., and spent his early years in Lanham, Maryland. He moved to Brookland, Washington, D.C., when he was four years old. Drew recalls having a desire to be a pilot from as early as four years old. ==Military career==

Drew received his commission as a second lieutenant from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1984. He completed Undergraduate Helicopter Pilot Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 1985. His initial assignment was to the HH-3E, flying combat rescue missions. He later transitioned to the MH-60G and was assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command. There, he flew combat missions in operations Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Provide Comfort. He completed USAF Fixed-Wing Qualification in 1993, and the United States Naval Test Pilot School in June 1994. He has commanded two flight test units and served on Air Combat Command staff. Drew is a command pilot with over 4000 hours of flying time across 30 types of aircraft. He retired from the air force in September 2010, after more than 25 years of service. ==NASA career==

Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Drew 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. He served in technical assignments until he took a sabbatical to the U.S. Air Force's Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, attending a master's degree program at their Air War College. Drew worked as a liaison between NASA and the United States Department of Defense between 2016 and 2024. Upon the establishment of the division of space sustainability in late 2024, Drew became NASA's first ever director for space sustainability. He is also the acting director of Cross-Directorate Technical Integration for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate. STS-118 When Clayton Anderson was moved to STS-117, Drew was selected for the available position on STS-118. His selection for STS-118 made him the first representative of the astronaut class of 2000 to go into space. STS-133 during Flight Day 2 of STS-133 Drew served as a mission specialist on STS-133, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. This mission launched on February 24, 2011, and docked with the space station two days later. Landing occurred on March 9. Drew's role on this crew was that of a mission specialist, and he conducted two spacewalks. On February 28, Drew became the 200th person to walk in space. White House career Drew worked in the Obama Administration's Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2015 to 2016 as the assistant director for Aviation and Space Security. In 2016, he was appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors by President Barack Obama, a post he held until 2020. == Awards and honors ==

Drew's decorations include: • Meritorious Service Medal with 1 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 Award 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 service stars. == Patti Grace Smith Fellowship ==

In October 2020, Drew co-founded the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, an official spin-off of the Brooke Owens Fellowship intended to provide resources for Black undergraduate students pursuing careers in aerospace. == Personal life ==

File:STS-133 Bowen & Drew EVA 1.jpg|Drew during his EVA on STS-133 File:STS-133 Group Portrait in the PMM Leonardo.jpg|Group portrait in the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module File:STS-133 ISS-26 crew members in the newly-installed PMM.jpg|Drew floating inside the PMM File:STS-133 ISS-26 Alvin Drew jokes with Cady Coleman.jpg|Drew inside his EVA suit File:STS-133 ISS-26 Alvin Drew and Cady Coleman.jpg|Drew working with Cady Coleman in the US laboratory module ==See also==