MISSION FIRST: The Final Frontier

When Anne McClain was in kindergarten, she innocently wrote a children's story about going into Space. She fell in love with aviation watching air shows at Fairfield Air Force Base in her hometown of Spokane, Wash., and dreamed of walking in Space.

Thirty years later, that dream became a reality with her selection to NASA's 2013 Candidate Class.

Now Maj. Anne McClain (USMA '02) is among eight candidates (four men and four women) chosen from a pool of 6,300 applications to prepare for missions that might include exploration and travel to new destinations in the solar system. Those destinations could include Mars or distant asteroids.

In order to complete the candidacy training, she had to be qualified in five areas: flying T-38 jets; training in the astronaut's suit for Space walks; Space Stations systems; robotics; the Russian language.

From the tender age of four, what many might have considered a child's fantasy of being an astronaut (just around the time Sally Ride became the first American female astronaut and third female to be part of the Space program), proved to be the path McClain would follow in fulfilling that dream.

The first step was acceptance to West Point. Initially McClain knew little about the United States Military Academy. Her foray into finding information about West Point came via the Internet, but after looking on its web site, it would be the only school to which she applied.

"My parents have always been supportive of whatever we wanted to do," says McClain. "They would have been happy and proud wherever I ended up. Like any parent who sees their child off to the military, it is not the first thing you would choose for your child, but at the same time there is an enormous amount of pride."

McClain was delayed a year before attending West Point as a broken ankle suffered on the softball diamond the spring of her senior year at Gonzaga Preparatory School forced her Academy admission to be deferred one year. Instead of joining West Point's Class of 2001, she entered with the Class of 2002.

When McClain attended Gonzaga University that interim year, she did not want to lose a year of athletic eligibility playing softball, so instead she joined the rugby team. It proved to be a sport that she would continue to play after college.

"My intention was to play softball in college, but that was not a driving reason why I went to West Point," explains McClain. "I went for military leadership and the education aspects. Getting to play softball was a huge bonus."

McClain was not among the recruited athletes coming in with her class to West Point, so she initiated contact with Army softball head coach Jim Flowers. The longtime Black Knight mentor knew from their conversations that she was the type of player for which he was looking.

"Anne notified us she was interested, and early-on in the recruiting process, we could tell that she was very mission-oriented and highly motivated," says Flowers. "She had goals she wanted to do from the onset. Playing softball was part of her life as well as playing rugby.

"One of Anne's goals was to fly, and she participated in an airplane design course under the guidance of the Department of Engineering. She was interested in the Space program, probably not as an astronaut at that time, but it was something she might do some day."

The softball team qualified twice for the NCAA Regional Tournament during McClain's four years, and Flowers felt she was a key part to the Black Knights' success. She contributed in various roles as a catcher, third baseman, outfielder and designated player, the latter more so at tournament time.

"I remember Anne hitting a home run at the Patriot League Tournament that put the game out of reach her junior year," recalls Flowers, who retired as the Black Knights' head coach in 2009. "She was always ready, always in the game and brought a lot of spirit along with aggressiveness and determination. She was willing to do whatever I asked in order to help the team."

Flowers laughs when he remembers "a few times that we did not start out on the same page, but she was able to negotiate, compromise and understand what the long-term results would be. Anne wanted it to be positive, and she always took away from our conversations something that could help her reach her goal."

He summed it up best by saying, "Her motivation, spirit, drive and mission-oriented philosophy of life was a major contribution to winning and going to the NCAAs twice."

McClain says, "I think sports of any kind teaches a lot of good lessons that transitions into being on a team out in the United States Army. I feel you have to take responsibility for self-preparation so you are ready when the team needs to rely on you. The teamwork aspect and understanding the most you can do is to fill only a part of the bigger picture. I think the 'fields of friendly strife' is very applicable here.

"I loved being on the softball team, it was that bright spot that every day I knew I was going to softball practice. In hindsight, I was probably too hard on myself as I am a perfectionist, but I think the biggest takeaway I learned was being on the team."

In addition to playing softball, McClain worked hard to develop a women's rugby team at West Point. Though she was not able to bring that about during her stay, it helped set the wheels in motion for the sport joining the club ranks not long after she graduated. Last fall, women's rugby, along with men's rugby, earned varsity status at the Academy.

McClain also shined academically in a leadership role. A four-time member of the Patriot League Softball Academic Honor Roll, McClain was the highest ranked female in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering her senior year. She was her company's battalion executive officer and graduated 49th in her class, earning a bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aeronautical Engineering.

Reminiscing about her cadet days, McClain credits Flowers' mentorship in making the transition into the next stage as an officer.

"The cadets are in a transition period between being a high school kid and being an Army leader," explains McClain. "For me personally, in looking back, it was adjusting to my role in the military environment.

"Being a good follower and then becoming a good leader was where most of my conflicts came, and you have to let go of some of that immaturity you come in with. For me, it was very effective when I came out the other side ready to do my job."

Gaining a Marshall Scholarship following graduation, McClain headed to England where she earned two master's degrees. She was awarded a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bath in 2004, and the following year earned a master's degree in International Relations from the University of Bristol.

Her stay in the UK also helped McClain's rugby career because of the higher level of play. "I had some natural talent for the game, but learned how to play when I was in England.

"I tried out for the national team when I was still at West Point, but did not get an invite back; however, I was good enough to play national military rugby. After a year playing in England, I came back for a tryout for the USA Rugby Team and made it."

McClain's first military assignment was in the state of Hawai'i where she earned her wings as an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot. She began her career with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Cavalry Regiment at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawai'i. Shortly after, McClain was deployed 15 months in Operation Iraqi Freedom where she flew more than 800 combat hours.

In 2011, McClain began the two-year process to be an astronaut, and while she was waiting, completed Command and General Staff College and the C-12 Fixed Wing Multi-Engine qualification courses. She then attended the United States Naval Test Pilot School, graduating in June 2013 at the same time she was selected as one of eight members to be a NASA astronaut candidate. She ranked as the first female graduate of West Point to join that elite group.

"When you send in your resume, it tells NASA what you have done and then your application process seeks out how you have done it," states McClain. "It asks, 'Have you been a good follower? Have you been a good leader? Are you a good person to be with?' The missions in Space are six months long with a crew of three to six people working in very close proximity. You must have people on your team who are willing to do things for the team."

Being technically competent is an important part of the resume and one that McClain shined in as a helicopter pilot and as an instructor and test pilot who has flown over 23 aircrafts.

During the application process, NASA vetted the candidate list to 500, then invited the top 100 finalists for a round of interviews that took three days. NASA then whittled the list further to 40, inviting those remaining in the process for week-long interview sessions, before finally selecting its class of eight.

"They want to meet you, and it was one of the easiest interviews I have had," remarks McClain. "There are a total of 11 unassigned astronauts, three from the class before us along with my class. Some slots only send four per year into Space. Slots come down at varying frequencies. All of us now are assuming jobs in the office. I am working with Space Walk Development. We have a big pool and if there is going to be a Space walk, we run the procedure a number of times in the pool to make certain they are right.

"I am passionate about exploration and human kind doing something they have never done before. Starting from playing softball to being a commander in Iraq and on this team now, I am happy to play whatever role it is to get somebody there. I would love to be on a Space walk, but I also love to be supporting the next person selected to do it.

"I have already achieved my goal, so everything else is going to be a bonus," continues McClain. "Every member of our class will one day go to Space. Whatever role they give (me) at the time, I will be thrilled to fulfill it."

Space: The final frontier. That is where the next stage of Anne McClain's life will take her.

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MISSION FIRST: The Final Frontier

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