Dave Hughes is a native Colorado West Point Graduate who served as a Combat Commander in the both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He is a graduate of the Army War College, possesses a Masters of Arts Degree, and served on the Army staff at the Pentagon in the 1960s and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a Politico-Military Analyst at the highest policy levels in Washington. He taught at West Point and serves on some of its alumni committees. He was a senior commander and Chief of Staff of a major combat formation at Fort Carson Colorado before retiring as a full colonel after 27 years active military service in 1973.
He has been researching, developing, and operating, online dial up, or wirelessly connected systems since 1979. In 1993 Hughes was awarded the Telecommunications Pioneer Award in by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) of Washington, DC for his effective work in grass roots connectivity.
In 1998 Wired Magazine named Hughes one of the leading "Wired 25" pioneers in the world. He led the revitalization of the Old Colorado City Historic District of westside Colorado Springs from 1976 onward. In 2004 he was given a very high honor. He was designated a "Distinguished West Point Graduate" - only the 9th colonel ever to receive such an honor. He is the only DG among the thousands of West Point graduates, active and retired in the State of Colorado.
Hughes owns his own small company, Old Colorado City Communications, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, lives with his wife of 54 years in the Old Colorado City district of Colorado Springs, near to his 3 grown married children, 5 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.