The roar of jet engines echoed across the Nevada desert on Nov. 7 as the U.S. Air Force paid tribute to a legendary fighter pilot, Col. Gail Peck, who died two weeks ago.
Photo: William Lewis & Airman 1st Class Timothy Perish
Peck, a member of the Air Force Academy’s fourth graduating class, the “Red Tags,” flew over 5,000 hours in a remarkable variety of aircraft. His logbook includes entries for the T-33, T-38, F-4, F-5, F-15, and – uniquely – the MiG-17 and MiG-21.
Peck’s early career followed a typical path for a talented young fighter jock. After earning his wings at Laughlin AFB, Texas, where he topped his class, he became a T-33 instructor pilot. He later transitioned to the T-38, first as an instructor pilot and then as an instructor for other T-38 instructors at Randolph AFB, Texas.
Peck’s combat experience came in Vietnam. After completing F-4 gunnery training at MacDill AFB, Florida, he deployed to Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand. There, he flew 163 combat missions in the F-4D, including an impressive 100 night sorties over North Vietnam and Laos.
After the Vietnam War, Peck served as an air-to-air instructor at the elite Fighter Weapons School at Nellis. There, he launched a highly classified program, codenamed Constant Peg, to train American fighter pilots against real Soviet MiGs.
In 1978, Peck took command of the 4477th Test & Evaluation Squadron, the unit responsible for Constant Peg. He was the first squadron commander at Tonopah Test Range, the secret Nevada base where American pilots secretly flew captured Soviet fighters.
Peck later commanded the 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Zweibrücken AB, West Germany, and served as the Deputy for Air Force Safety at Norton AFB, California before retiring in 1988.
After retiring, Peck settled in Las Vegas. He worked as a defense contractor and taught as a subject matter expert at the USAF Weapons School, where he was responsible for the F-15, F-22, and MC-130.
Two F-22 Raptors flew in the memorial tribute to Peck. A MiG-21 and a MiG-29, representing the Soviet fighters that Peck knew so well, also took part in the flyover.