Readdy graduated from
Annapolis in 1974, and earned his wings as a
Naval Aviator. Following fleet training in the
A-6 Intruder at
NAS Oceana,
Virginia, he joined Attack Squadron Eighty-five aboard the
aircraft carrier deployed to the North Atlantic and Mediterranean from 1976 until 1980. Upon completion of the Naval Test Pilot School, he served as project test pilot on a variety of programs at
Strike Aircraft Test Directorate. Following a tour as a
test pilot instructor, he reported in 1984 to , on Caribbean and Mediterranean deployments. In 1986 Readdy transferred into the
Naval Reserve to join
NASA and served as an instructor pilot and unit commander until his naval retirement in August 2000. He has logged 7,000 flying hours in over 60 types of
fixed wing and
helicopters and over 550 carrier landings.
STS-51 (September 12–22, 1993) and, most recently,
STS-79 (September 16–26, 1996). Readdy has logged over 672 hours in space. Readdy then served as Associate Administrator, NASA HQ Office of Space Flight that has oversight for the
Marshall,
Kennedy,
Stennis and
Johnson Space Centers as well as programmatic oversight for
International Space Station, Space Shuttle, Space Communications and Space Launch Vehicles. Readdy retired from NASA after 19 years of service on October 15, 2005. ==Post-NASA career==