Reports say that a decorated fighter pilot, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, is President-elect Barack Obama’s pick as NASA head. Gration was one of Obama’s chief military and foreign policy advisers during his presidential campaign.

Gration, a career Air Force man, has held senior policy positions in the military before his retirement, and has received many awards, which include, among others, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Distinguished Service Medal.

Ever since his first meeting with the young Senator Obama in 2005, Gration has been especially close to him; and the two traveled together on a five-nation, 15-day tour to Africa in 2006. Gration was raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa; he is the son of missionary parents, and he can speak Swahili quite fluently.

Though practically unknown to the space community - unlike his predecessor, Michael Griffin, who is a rocket scientist - Gration does have some experience with NASA. In 1982, he spent a year as a White House Fellow working for Hans Mark, NASA’s deputy administrator at that time.

In the opinion of John Logsdon, a space policy expert, Gration’s lack of space experience would in no way bar him from being qualified for the new job. In support of Gration, Logsdon said: “There are lots of NASA administrators who have come from other areas without a background in space. You want a guy who is a leader and can manage a large organization.”