Col. (Ret.) Gaillard R. Peck Jr. entered the Air Force Academy, graduating in 1962 as a member of the fourth graduating class, known as the original Red Tags.
Following Pilot Training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. He served assignments as a T-33 and T-38 instructor Pilot Subsequently he received assignment to fly F-4’s and after completing training was deployed Ubon AB, in Thailand. Col. Peck flew 163 combat missions in the F-4D in North Vietnam and Laos, including 100-night combat mission. Upon completion of his combat tour he was assigned to MacDill AFB, Florida.
In July 1972 Col. Peck was assigned to the 414th FWS at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., as an air-to-air instructor in the Fighter Weapons School. For a short time after his promotion to major, he served as the Terminally Guided Weapons flight commander. In 1974 he was selected to be the air-to-air flight commander in the F-4 Fighter Weapons School.
Col. Peck then served in the ‘fighter shop” at the Pentagon and while there he initiated a program which he named Constant Peg. This program resulted in the enhancement of an airfield at the Tonopah Test Range and the initiation of jet fighter operations for both the MiG-17 and MiG-21. The purpose of Constant Peg was to train Air Force and Navy fighter pilots to a degree of proficiency never before achieved. He then served as an Air Force Aggressor pilot and 4477th commander.
He subsequently served in many other high-level capacities and was in Saudi Arabia, when the Iran-Iraq war started. Col. Peck was a key planner and operations expert engaged in the movement of AWACS and KC-135 aircraft to the theater. In May 1982 Col. Peck participated for two months as a planner in the development of the Gulf Cooperation Council's military arm. He served in several more high level assignments before retiring from active duty on July 31, 1988, Col. Peck retired from active duty with more than 26 years of continuous commissioned service. he has more than 5,000 hours flying time in the T-33, T-38, F-4, RF-4, F-5, F-15, MiG-17 and MiG-21 aircraft.
The focus of his talk will be about the Constant Peg program that he initiated and flying in the aggressor squadron he commanded at Nellis AFB.