Major General Charles Bolden Class of 1968 Astronaut

After graduating from the Naval Academy, Charles Bolden accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a naval aviator, he flew more than 100 sorties into North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, in the A-6A Intruder. Following his return to the United States, Bolden graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland.

Bolden became an astronaut in 1981. Major General Bolden has served on four space flights including STS-31, during which the crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. Bolden has logged over 680 hours in space.

Bolden left NASA in 1994 and returned to active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps to become Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. Major General Charles F. Bolden, Jr., currently serves as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces, Japan, Yokota Air Base, Japan.