AEDC's Crawford Parrish aims high Published Feb. 17, 2012 By Philip Lorenz III AEDC/PA ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Crawford Parrish has always aimed high, both literally and spiritually. "I wanted to learn to fly from the time I was very young," said Parrish, AEDC's Capabilities Analysis and Risk Assessment manager. "The Air Force seemed an obvious route so I pursued it. It probably had a lot to do with growing up during the space race. I know I never missed any of the coverage of the space program in the 1960s." He applied for an Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarship when he was in high school. Drawn to math and science throughout secondary school, Parrish graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in physics. He joined the Air Force and served as a weapons systems officer or WSO (pronounced wizzo) on the F-111 Aardvark, a long-range fighter and tactical strike aircraft. "Flying 500 feet above the ground at 500 or 600 miles per hour is fun," he said. "There's just no two ways about it. And moving at 1,000 feet per second is a challenge." A WSO works closely with the pilot to ensure and maintain crew efficiency, situational awareness and mission effectiveness. If designated as the mission commander, the WSO has the additional responsibility of all phases of the assigned mission. Thirteen years later, during a force downsizing, Parrish returned to the civilian world. Looking back, he said it was a time of uncertainty about what path to take going forward. Parrish then did "something completely different" with his life. "I spent a year working as the chaplain in a level-one trauma center at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio," he said. "There were three hospitals in the Dayton area that offered clinical pastoral education and each had a different perspective on it. I interviewed each program and chose the one that seemed the best to me. "The one I did go with did make me a better, more rounded person. I learned a lot about myself and where I needed to grow personally." Like any trauma center, patients would come in and be stabilized, but then without warning "there would be an automobile accident and it's people's lives hanging in the balance." Parrish said personal growth should not be a passive experience, but children and adults need to be receptive to guidance, which is how the pastoral counseling job came about. "It was something I did on the recommendation of some people from church," he said. His son, Crawford Parrish Jr., who also works at AEDC, recalled how his father always took a very active role in his children's lives. "As a student, I recognized that my father was unhappy with the volume and quality of education provided by the schools my sister and I attended," said Parrish Jr., a buyer for ATA's purchasing department. "He took it upon himself to fill in the gaps. During summer breaks my dad taught us to read and write ancient Greek, much to my chagrin. At the time, I did not appreciate his efforts to teach me to do more than what was required, but I have since come to understand why he did it, and I am thankful." Around two years later, the family moved to middle Tennessee, where Parrish Sr.'s wife Fran had a position at AEDC with a subcontractor for the re-engineering joint program office. "Shortly after that, I came to work for ACS and then went to ATA and almost three years ago, came over to the government side," he said. Since coming to Tennessee, the family has attended St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Tullahoma. About two and half years ago, Parrish Sr. assumed the duties as verger at the church. Wearing a black cassock, a verger is the person, usually a lay member of the church, who arrives early to unlock the doors, ensure that all of the lay ministers including acolytes, chalice bearers, choir members and lectors are present and ready to perform their duties. The verger also makes sure that all the processional participants and the choir are present and in the correct order. "Verge is the Latin word for rod or staff," Parrish Sr. explained. "Traditionally, and this is going back hundreds of years, the verge was a wooden stick with a cross at the end, that the verger carried to prod anyone falling asleep in the pews during a service. In medieval times, vergers also literally made sure the path was clear of rats and made sure the priest would be able to get to the front of the church." Barbara Casey, who works in ATA's information assurance department, knows Crawford Sr., through the church they both attend. "Crawford is a very dedicated member of St. Barnabas Parish," she said. "He spends many hours performing his duties as a verger. I have always found him to be supportive and helpful and feel that he is devout in his service to our Lord." Another member of the congregation, Linda Love, who works at AEDC's Technical Library, shares Casey's view of Parrish Sr. "He is very knowledgeable about the Bible and all things Episcopalian," Love said. "His role is an assistant to our priest, mostly in the service, but sometimes in helping parishioners who have a need, like sickness or death, etc. He also teaches adult Christian education and has also done special lectures and studies we have had in the past, Lenten studies for example." With both his children grown, married and raising their own families, Parrish Sr. still aims high. He enjoys reading science fiction, historical and scientific non-fiction and mysteries in his spare time. His interest in the past has particularly resonated with his son. "More and more I find myself curious about history, more about why things happened as opposed to a very basic timeline of when things happened," Parrish Jr. said. "I can thank my dad for that, in that he never would give me a simple answer. "He always explained to me the circumstances leading up to an event, more than one potential point of view regarding the event in question, and the impact of that event on all parties involved. He never cheapened anything the way a high school textbook would."