GRANITE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1950

Terrence E. Hobbs, a 1950 graduate of GCHS, is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars with 33 years of military service. Subsequent to his military service, Colonel Hobbs worked for the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives as a Staff Investigator for the House Appropriations Committee for 18 years. During this same time, he was President of Hobbs Consulting Services, a nation-wide engineering and construction consultant service.

Colonel Hobbs received his undergraduate degree in engineering with credit from the United States Naval Academy in 1957 and his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. He co-authored papers on Operations Research subjects as applied to medical operating rooms, which were selected for publication by the University of Michigan’s Medical School. He was registered as a professional engineer in the state of California in 1969.

Colonel Hobbs has served his country in numerous world-wide locations including Alaska, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippine Islands, and at several locations in the United States. He has conducted business in many other foreign locations including Korea, Japan, Greece, Spain and Italy.

While in the Air Force, Colonel Hobbs was responsible for the construction of a $450 million facility at the Air Force Arnold Engineering and Development Center in Tullahoma, Tennessee, which provides the ability to test jet engines in a real-life environment. It is the only facility of its kind in the world. In addition, he was responsible for the construction of the launch and recovery facilities for the NASA Space Shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, which provides the only location where the shuttle can be launched into a polar orbit.

Throughout his career, Colonel Hobbs has received numerous recognitions by the United States and foreign nations. He has twice been awarded the Air Force Legion of Merit and twice the Air Force Bronze Star. On July 1, 1966, he was personally decorated by the then President of Vietnam, General Nguyen Cao Ky, with the Vietnamese Medal of Honor, First Class. He was selected to attend the Air War College in 1972 and graduated in 1973. He was later appointed to serve as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.

Colonel Hobbs retired from the Air Force in 1984 and was employed by the Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California, as their National Manager for Facility Development in Washington, D.C. In 1987 he was employed by the U.S. House of Representatives where he conducted in-depth investigations on the expenditures of funds allocated to various U.S. agencies such as the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, and others. He has been credited with providing recommendations to Congress that resulted in millions of dollars in savings to taxpayers. He worked primarily in the Committee Offices located in the Pentagon and was present there when the building was struck by the 9-11 terrorists.

Colonel Hobbs is now fully retired and resides with his wife, Eleanor, in Alexandria, Virginia.
Colonel Hobbs received his undergraduate degree in engineering with credit from the United States Naval Academy in 1957 and his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. He co-authored papers on Operations Research subjects as applied to medical operating rooms, which were selected for publication by the University of Michigan’s Medical School. He was registered as a professional engineer in the state of California in 1969.

Colonel Hobbs has served his country in numerous world-wide locations including Alaska, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippine Islands, and at several locations in the United States. He has conducted business in many other foreign locations including Korea, Japan, Greece, Spain and Italy.

While in the Air Force, Colonel Hobbs was responsible for the construction of a $450 million facility at the Air Force Arnold Engineering and Development Center in Tullahoma, Tennessee, which provides the ability to test jet engines in a real-life environment. It is the only facility of its kind in the world. In addition, he was responsible for the construction of the launch and recovery facilities for the NASA Space Shuttle at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, which provides the only location where the shuttle can be launched into a polar orbit.

Throughout his career, Colonel Hobbs has received numerous recognitions by the United States and foreign nations. He has twice been awarded the Air Force Legion of Merit and twice the Air Force Bronze Star. On July 1, 1966, he was personally decorated by the then President of Vietnam, General Nguyen Cao Ky, with the Vietnamese Medal of Honor, First Class. He was selected to attend the Air War College in 1972 and graduated in 1973. He was later appointed to serve as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.

Colonel Hobbs retired from the Air Force in 1984 and was employed by the Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California, as their National Manager for Facility Development in Washington, D.C. In 1987 he was employed by the U.S. House of Representatives where he conducted in-depth investigations on the expenditures of funds allocated to various U.S. agencies such as the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, and others. He has been credited with providing recommendations to Congress that resulted in millions of dollars in savings to taxpayers. He worked primarily in the Committee Offices located in the Pentagon and was present there when the building was struck by the 9-11 terrorists.

Colonel Hobbs is now fully retired and resides with his wife, Eleanor, in Alexandria, Virginia.