He served four years on active duty, first in flight training, then flying as a weapon systems officer in jet fighter-interceptors.

In 1960 Griffin left active duty and began his space career as a systems engineer/flight controller at the USAF Satellite Test Center in Sunnyvale, California.

After the Apollo Program was completed Griffin served in other roles at NASA, first in multiple positions at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., then as the deputy director of the Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center in California, then as deputy director of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After taking early retirement from NASA in 1986, Griffin became a senior executive with several non-space, as well as space-related, companies and organizations in the private sector.

He was a member of the famed Texas A&M Corps of Cadets for four years and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force (USAF) upon graduation in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

After graduation Griffin went to work for Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California, prior to being called to active duty by the USAF.

The USAF ordered Griffin to report for active duty on December 7, 1956, at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Again, intense ground school was accompanied by inflight day and night intercept training, first in the North American B-25 Mitchell, then in the Northrop F-89D Scorpion.

Griffin finished second in his class and was able to select the operational assignment he wanted: the 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) at Hamilton Air Force Base in Marin County, California.

In 1960, while still serving in the 84th FIS, Griffin, on his own and in his spare time, began his general aviation career as a pilot by taking flying lessons at a local airport in nearby Novato, California.

LMSC was the prime contractor for flight operations in the STC which controlled USAF satellites launched into polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB, California.

He served as the principal advisor to the Administrator and other NASA officials on matters involving relations with Congress as well as state and local governments.

Griffin served as "general manager" of the NASA center responsible for aircraft flight research programs involving a wide variety of aeronautical and space technology.

In addition to general management functions, his specific duties required a strong interface with USAF flight research/test activities.

KSC was a 140,000-acre installation with an original plant value of $1.8 billion, a workforce of 2,200 civil servants and 10,000 support contractors and an annual budget of $550 million.

Griffin had responsibility for systems engineering and general management functions of the company, a small R&D organization involved in high-technology products manufacturing and testing, research studies, management systems consultation and classified support contact work for the Department of Defense crewed space flight activities.

Griffin led the successful effort to bring the full Shuttle capability to operational status and played a key role in securing approval for the development of the International Space Station.

As a senior consultant with Korn/Ferry International, Griffin assists the firm in recruiting assignments for senior-level executives, especially for clients in technology-intensive industries and organizations.

Griffin is chairman of the board of the Golden Spike Company (GSC), a Delaware Corporation headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

They had the aircraft completely rebuilt including the installation of a modified Lycoming O-360 engine which produces 200 horsepower, a constant speed propeller, and long range fuel tanks.