Mercury Seven a team and solo. Grissom, Cooper, and Slayton were Air Force pilots; Shepard, Carpenter, and Schirra were Navy pilots, and Glenn was a Marine Corps pilot. All seven had attended a variety of postsecondary institutions in the 1940s. Of the five astronauts who had completed undergraduate degrees before being selected, two (Shepard and Schirra) were graduates of the United States Naval Academy. Having earned a Master of Arts degree in 1957 at the Naval War College, Shepard was the only selectee who held an advanced degree. Following a decade of intermittent studies, Cooper completed his degree as a mid-career student
Carrier Strike Group Seven 2004–06 operations Carrier Strike Group Seven 2004–06 operations Carrier Strike Group Seven 2004–2006 operations included one deployments to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and its embarked carrier air wing flew approximately 2940 air sorties in support of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan while CARSTRKGRU-7 surface warships supported theater security and maritime interdiction operation within that fleet's area of responsibility. It also participated in Valiant Shield 2006, a major joint military exercise of the U.S. Pacific Command. Finally, Carrier Strike Group Seven provided humanitarian assistance after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Prior to being re-designated as Carrier Strike Group Seven on 1 October