|
|
|
Alumni Awards
|
| 2005 Heritage Award Winner |
 |
| Thomas C. Reed '51 |
| At School Meeting on October 11, Headmaster Eric Widmer presented Thomas C. Reed '51 P'86 with the 2005 Heritage Award for his military and national security service to the United States. The Heritage Award citation honoring T.C. hangs in the Memorial Building Lobby along with those of recipients from previous years. The citation reads as follows: |
| "As a four year man, you were totally involved in the life of Deerfield. Your name appeared on the rosters for the senior play, Glee Club, chess, bridge clubs, football, hockey, baseball, and lacrosse. Upon graduating from Deerfield in 1951, you went on to Cornell University, where you graduated first in your class with a degree in engineering. You were designated a distinguished military graduate and were commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. You began active duty with the Air Force in November 1956 and served until 1959 as technical project officer for the Minuteman Re-Entry Vehicle System with the Air Force's Ballistic Missile Division. Simultaneously, you attended the University of Southern California in your off duty hours earning a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering. |
| In 1959 you relocated to the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at the University of California where much of the country's nuclear weapons research takes place. There you designed two thermonuclear devices fired in the Dominic test series in the Pacific in 1962. Soon afterwards you started and ran a successful high-tech company that made superconductors. You also moved into politics and in 1966 you became the northern California chairperson of Ronald Reagan's first gubernatorial race. You served as chief of personnel in the Governor's first administration, and in 1970 assumed full responsibility for Governor Reagan's re-election campaign as the statewide chairperson and campaign director. |
| In 1973 you were recruited by the Department of Defense to manage intelligence activity during the Yom Kippur War. You became director of information systems to integrate the worldwide military command system, and then were appointed the eleventh secretary of the Air Force. Subsequently, as special assistant to the President for National Security Policy, your principal project was the design of a national security policy, approved by President Reagan as National Security Decision Directive 32, which was the roadmap for ending the Cold War.
|
| You left Washington in 1983 to return to managing your own business. You continued to advise on national security issues and still do today. Throughout the Soviet collapse in 1991, you served a consultant to General Colin Powell, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You also presided over the Policy Committee of the Joint Strategic Planning Staff to help plan the START I treaty announced in June of 1992 by Presidents Bush and Yeltsin. |
| Your first book, At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War, tells many stories about all those who fought and ended the Cold War without a nuclear shot being fired. Today you believe that nuclear weapons in the hands of Islamic Militants constitute the number one threat facing the world. You continue to advise senior officials on lessons learned from the Cold War. |
| In addition, you have been involved with numerous boards, including the Draper Laboratory, bringing engineering solutions to problems of national significance. You have gained many titles including military officer, administration insider, developer and wine connoisseur. Deerfield is proud to number you among its alumni and honored to present you with the Heritage Award." |
| | |
