Robert D. Cabana - Military Career

Military Career

After graduation from the United States Naval Academy, Cabana attended The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and completed Naval Flight Officer training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, in 1972. He served as an A-6 Intruder bombardier/navigator with squadrons in the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. He returned to NAS Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was redesignated as a Naval Aviator in September 1976. He was then assigned to the 2nd MAW at MCAS Cherry Point, where he flew A-6 Intruders. He graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 1981, and served at the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, as the A-6 program manager, X-29 advanced technology demonstrator project officer, and as a test pilot for flight systems and ordnance separation testing on A-6 Intruder and A-4 Skyhawk series aircraft. Prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate he was serving as the Assistant Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 12 at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

Cabana retired from the Marine Corps in August 2000 in the rank of Colonel.

He has logged over 7,000 hours in 34 different kinds of aircraft.