posted 05-13-2009 06:14 AM               

After 24 years of service, Capt. Daniel Burbank retired from the U.S. Coast Guard during a ceremony April 30 at the Coast Guard Academy.

Burbank, whose last assignment returned him to the academy where his career began in 1985, was the second Coast Guardsman to be selected for the NASA astronaut program.

He flew on two space flight missions.

His assignments have included the Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin and Coast Guard Air Stations Elizabeth City, N.C., Cape Cod, Mass., and Sitka, Alaska. During his time at these air stations, he logged more than 3,500 flight hours and flew more than 1,800 Coast Guard missions.

"Capt. Burbank is a remarkable person. His persistence, intelligence, and dedication to public service set a positive example to all the cadets he taught while assigned as an instructor here at the Academy," said Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, academy superintendent. "We are pleased that he selected the academy to be his last assignment as an active duty Coast Guard officer, and we wish him and his family much success in retirement. Fortunately for America, he will continue his career as an astronaut."