Apollo Rising (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781976222191)

David R. Oakes is a retired U.S. Navy Commander, and served on active duty for nearly 12 years as a Naval Intelligence Officer. He served in OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. Tours of duty included deployments onboard USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) while assigned to the last operational A-7 squadron in the Navy, VA-72. He also deployed while assigned to Strike fighter Squadron-105 (VFA-105). Mr. Oakes served as an intelligence watch officer while assigned to U.S. Central Command, and also as a desk analyst for Middle East/Horn of Africa section. After serving a year tour at U.S. Fifth Fleet, in Manama, Bahrain, he was assigned to complete his advanced studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California. After joining the U.S. Navy Reserves in 2000, Mr. Oakes volunteered to serve a six-month deployment to Saudi Arabia in support of Joint Task Force Southern Watch, where he supported both OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. He has supported NASA since 2000, working as a contractor at the John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. He is currently the IT Operations Manager overseeing contractual duties for the Stennis Data Center. Mr. Oakes plans to retire in south Mississippi, build a small log cabin and enjoy raising his dogs.