Hahn, Thomas, EN2

After being discharged I pursued an Associate Degree at the local State University of New York located in nearby Farmingdale on Long Island near where I had an apartment. I worked for local contractors doing service and engineering work for them and continued to consider reenlistment and job search with engineering firms.  By then the economy had changed such that the market was flooded with Associate Degree candidates and just an associate degree would not provide much of a  jump to getting into flight school if I reenlisted so I chose to continue the engineering process and get my Bachelor's degree.  After graduation with school debt an issue I entered the business world and soon reenlistment was a distant memory.  I worked in the HVAC commercial industry with Carrier Houston as a service supervisor and technical to the distributors' dealer network.  I  later took a position as a National Instructor assisting, teaching, and troubleshooting systems installed by dealers   At the Emde Co. in Houston Tx, I had a primary position with defining and writing the manuals for each of the systems the company installed for the owners as each system was designed and operated differently. Energistics Labs, an offshoot of the Emde contractor, was a design test lab for sound analysis and air flow patterns as well as how variable volume terminal boxes functioned.  Later with the lab, I held the license and certification to allow for testing and balancing of the installed systems under the state's NEBB and TEBB balancing authorities. This position ultimately led to me troubleshooting any startup anomalies in the multi-storey high rise office buildings and do the testing and balancing in cities within the United States for 26 years. Then in early 1990 an opportunity to work at NASA Johnson Space Center opened up to do HVAC system analysis at JSC. The opportunities continued to open up while at JSC and introduce me to new high technology devices being evaluated and tested there for later commercial applications. In the mid 90's I then worked in industry as a Technical Instructor with CSI a manufacturer of the high technical diagnostic equipment that I became familiar with while at JSC. Through that interfacing with clients, it opened a  door to Kennedy Space Center with EG&G, the base contractor for the operation of the support facilities for launch operations.  Later due to contract renewals the subsequent contractor also included work on the base at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the NOTO naval port.  In 2012, a year or so after leaving KSC due to the Shuttle Program ending and my position becoming expendable, I was contacted to work with Lockheed Martin on a special contract for the EPF facility that was being constructed for the Air Force till my documentation process was completed.  After a short time off in practice retirement in 2014 I then spent 6 months working for the Brevard County School system in Florida doing diagnostic analysis and troubleshooting on the Air Conditioning systems within the school district's 180 schools.  The effort was to help improve the overall operation and comfort to the staff and students as well as helping to reduce energy consumption.  I finally entered full retirement in July 2013

Retired now, this opportunity to document some of the memories takes up my time, and also allows me to Reflect on who, what, when and how I was able to achieve the career end we now call RETIREMENT.

Some additional highlights in my civilian career were to participate in the 20th Anniversary of the landing on the moon at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1989.  Each of the Astronauts at that time was provided a Corvette by a local dealership.  I own a 1969 Corvette and one of the teams at JSC who assembled a parade float wanted the same year Corvette to tow the float as was driven by the Astronauts at that time.  The team was the department that provides the EVL, the external environmental packages used outside the lander on the moon.  I did not give it much thought other than a great opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime gathering of history-making individuals.
Later I was to realize that it was an exceptional opportunity to participate and through that connection of donating my time and vehicle I was later able to secure a position at that center doing analysis work on the base facilities air conditioning systems.   It was not necessarily due to my capabilities in the HVAC field although those facts were discussed during the parade preparations.  A year or so after the parade anniversary a position opened up with the base contractor, my capabilities and background were noticed and I was asked to submit a resume, I was called in for an interview and secured the position.
Each future career advancement was driven by the basics I developed in the military, doing a job to the best of your ability, working with others on a team to achieve a common goal, being dependable and on time with duties and assignments etc.  After a few years, the new technical tools I learned to use at JSC provided me an advancement with a commercial manufacturer of Diagnostic Instruments for HVAC systems and facilities and ultimately the interfacing with various students learning how to use the tools which I was teaching led to the final career move to Kennedy Space Center.
Working with the extremely talented employees, technicians, shuttle and payload personnel and the Astronauts are special memories I will always cherish.  Being present and a part of the space program in my chosen career field is right behind my enlistment in the Coast Guard,