Gaillard R. Peck, Jr

Gaillard R Peck Jr. is an Air Force Academy graduate and retired US Air Force colonel. He graduated top of his class during pilot training, but was denied his career goal of a fighter assignment, instead being retained as an instructor. F-4 training eventually followed this initial interval, along with an immediate combat assignment to the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. He subsequently flew 163 combat missions, many of which were conducted at night, and was awarded the Silver Star and three Distinguished Flying Crosses. He served as an instructor in the MiG-17 and later both the F-5E and MiG-21 as a 'Red Eagles' aggressor pilot in the program known as Constant Peg His career continued with assignments to Saudi Arabia during the Iran/Iraq War and as an operational F-15 Eagle pilot and commander in Japan. Peck retired from active duty in 1988, and since 1998 he has been an F-15C, F-22 and Special Ops academic instructor at the USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB. Among numerous other honours, in 2013 he was inducted into the State of Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.