Robert Fabian Class Of 1988
Biography
Rob Fabian (’88) is Chief Operating Officer for Vaya Space Inc., a small sat launch company and emerging leader in sustainable space access. He’s a founder and Executive Board member of the Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program, a 501c3 providing technical training to grow the aerospace and defense workforce, and serves as the President of the Space Force Association’s recently formed Florida Chapter, working to support Guardians past, present, and future.
He retired as a Colonel in 2013 after a career in space operations officer and ICBM maintenance that included tracking satellites, commanding maintainers in the field, working interagency issues in OSD Space Policy, speechwriting for the CSAF, and serving in Iraq as a Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Defense. A 1988 graduate in Space Operations, he holds advanced degrees in Public Administration (University of Oklahoma), and National Security Strategy (Naval War College), and was an Air Force Fellow at RAND.
USAFA honed Rob's sense of honor, duty, and fellowship, and influenced every aspect of his life. His relationships with graduates have shaped his military and civilian vocations. He's volunteering to serve on the AOG Board to give back and help continue all that the Academy represents.
Candidacy Statement
My time at USAFA and with fellow grads afterwards left an indelible mark on my life. Some of my happiest memories off duty have been socializing with fellow grads and I can’t count the number of times I got good advice from classmates and older grads. I am volunteering to serve on the Board because I want a chance to give something back. The sense of honor, duty, and fellowship that USAFA gave me belongs to every cadet and every graduate. The AOG stands as a guardian of that tradition.
One way I see to do that is through a resurgence of local chapters across the country and at bases overseas, both for fun and for professional growth. While USAFA produces excellent young officers, a little advice from an older grad that has “been there and done that” can be a huge help. With the new change in membership rules, we are all AOG members now. Yet more often than not, I’ve found little or no active local AOG presence as I PCS’d and then later retired. As a member of the Board, I’d like to try and grow that local presence and keep those traditions strong.