Hear the full interview with Col. Todd Thomas!
Col.Todd K. Thomas is the Wing Commander of the 179thAirlift Wing (AW)in Mansfield, Ohio.The 179AW is comprised of approximately 1,000 personnel who operate and support C130H airlift missions across the globe.Personnel provide combat airlift, combat support and combat services support, as well as humanitarian relief efforts on a worldwide scale.
He joined the 179th Airlift Wing in 1991, assigned to the 164th Airlift Squadron, as a C-130H pilot. Col.Thomas graduated from the University of Iowa in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. He was selected for, and attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. from 1989-1990. Upon completion of C-130 flight training, he returned to the Mansfield 164th Tactical Airlift Squadron, flying the C-130H2 as a traditional guardsman.In September 2012, he became mission qualified as an instructor/evaluator C27J pilot.
In December 2013, he completed requalification as an instructor/evaluator C130H pilot.In 1998,he became a full-time technician, initially supporting the Operations Group as the Chief of Aircrew Training and then in several positions throughout the AirliftWing, Operations Group and Maintenance Group, to include:Vice Wing Commander,Maintenance Group Commander, Operations Group Commander, Operations Support Flight Commander, Chief of Standardization Evaluation, and Chief of Current Operations. He has participated in Operations Southern Watch, Joint Forge (Enterprise), Coronet Oak, Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom; serving as aircrew member, staff officer, and commander at the squadron level.
Col.Thomas is a Command Pilot with more than 6,200 hours of flight time(including 465 combat hours)in the T-37, T-38, C-27J,and C-130Haircraft.