Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, today I recognize an exceptional Georgian, COL Eric Boe. Eric grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Henderson High School in Chamblee in 1983. A distinguished graduate with honors from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Eric earned his bachelor of science in astronautical engineering and subsequently a masters of science in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Eric has served his country with distinction. He has been an F-4E pilot, a T-38 instructor pilot, F-15C flight commander, and a test pilot for the F-15 and UH-1N, logging over 4,000 flight hours in 45 different aircraft. Additionally, Eric flew 55 combat missions over Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch.
In 2008, Eric was selected by NASA as a pilot and served in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch, Station Operations Branch, and Space Shuttle Branch as well as the Exploration Branch. In 2005-2006, Eric served as NASA Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
On November 14, 2008, Eric made his first trip to space serving as the pilot on STS-126 Endeavour. The Endeavour launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center with no delays or issues and docked with the International Space Station on November 16, 2008. The successful 16-day mission, which completed 250 orbits of Earth covering over 6 million miles, expanded the living quarters of the international space station and included four space walks by members of the Endeavour crew.
Eric has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. Serving as a Cadet in the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, Eric earned the Spaatz Award, the highest award given to Civil Air Patrol cadets. Further, Eric has received various military decorations such as two Meritorious Service Medals, two Air Medals, five Aerial Achievement Medals, the three Air Force Achievement Medals, and the Air Force Commendation Medals, three Outstanding Unit Awards, and the Combat Readiness Medal.
I want to acknowledge the achievements of the entire STS-126 Endeavour crew and congratulate them on their successful mission. As a fellow Georgian, I want to especially thank Eric for his outstanding service to our nation as a combat pilot and astronaut. His love of country and dedication are an inspiration, and he is a role model and an example of leadership of which we can all be proud.