Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group

More documents

Recommendations

Info

STACK WITH AUTHORITY The new Pelican-Hardigg ISP Case. Base Lid Shifting, loose cargo can slow down your ops and threaten the mission with damaged freight. Now, the new ISP Case from Pelican-Hardigg virtually eliminates load movement with its patent pending Inter Stacking Pattern (ISP). On the lid, unique wave-design stacking ribs add rigidity. On the base, molded-in discs interlock to the case below, even if it’s a different size. The ISP system is designed to cube out perfectly across standard logistics platforms for speed and load effi ciency. And cross-stacking builds incredibly tight loads that can save time while strapping and netting. The next generation container is the Pelican-Hardigg ISP Case. Anywhere a load is bound, on any transport and any platform. Go to: www.Pelican.com/ISP or call 1.866.291.8029 for your free ISP Case Information Kit. Fits like a glove: All ISP Case sizes are designed to the new Joint Inter-Modal Container system (JMIC) ■ 6 sizes from 4 to 25 cf ■ Watertight with pressure purge valves ■ Lightweight with load bearing rib design ■ Optimized for: JMIC container 463L pallet 40 x 48 pallet 1000 x 1200 euro pallet PELICAN Pelican Products, Inc. 23215 Early Avenue, Torrance, CA 90505 866.583.0426 (TOLL FREE) � Tel 310.326.4700 � Fax 310.326.3311 � www.pelican.com/sot All trademarks are registered and/or unregistered trademarks of Pelican Products, Inc., its subsidiaries and/or affi liates. TM
Q&A Needed: More Air Assets, Better Vision Gear, Transparent Armor Air Warrior Colonel John W. Thompson Commander 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Colonel John W. Thompson, a native of Augusta, Ga., was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army upon graduation from North Georgia College in 1987. Upon completion of the Aviation Officer Basic and OH-58 Aircraft Qualifications courses at Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1988, he was assigned to 4th Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Feucht, Germany. His assignments included Aeroweapons Platoon Leader, Aeroscout Platoon Leader and Squadron Assistant Operations Officer. Thompson has since served in a variety of aviation and special operations positions to include troop commander and division aviation plans officer, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; Platoon Leader, Special Mission Unit liaison officer and company commander, 1st Bn., 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.; executive officer, 82nd Aviation Brigade and operations officer, 2nd Bn. 82nd Aviation Bde., Fort Bragg, N.C.; joint planner, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and squadron commander, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo. He most recently graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. He is a combat veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and has multiple deployments in support of Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Thompson’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal with numeral two, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Combat Action Badge, the Master Army Aviator Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge. Q: Let’s jump in and talk about the physical growth of the 160th. Changes in 2008 created identical organization structure in the battalions. How are things going in bringing everything up to operational strength? A: This is a great place to start. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) has made steady progress on both strategic realignment of current assets and growth of personnel and equipment during the past two years. We now have nearly 3,000 soldiers serving in our ranks, keeping us on track to meet our current approved growth of 3,600 by 2015. We anticipate our MH-47G model Chinook fielding to be complete next spring, and our MH-60M model Black Hawk fielding to be complete in 2015. Reorganization of our current assets for three of our four line companies to have identical organizational structure is also making great progress. Our 4th Battalion on the West Coast now has a fully operational Black Hawk helicopter company supporting both combat and training missions around the globe. Our 2nd Battalion in Kentucky will begin incorporating Black Hawk helicopters in late 2011. Q: Last year, there was a spotlight on the call for more special operations rotary wing assets in Afghanistan. At an operator level, was there a real need for additional platforms? If so, has the requirement gap been filled or are there still things in the works to bridge the gap? A: There is definitely a demand beyond our means for additional helicopter support to ongoing and increasing special operations missions around the world. As special operations ground forces grow, the demand for aerial support to complete their missions naturally increases. This gap is not unique to special operations units. We are working with leaders at all levels and across different organizations to address this challenge. Specifically for Afghanistan, there is a plan for us to increase support incrementally as the regiment grows combat power by fielding additional aircraft while simultaneously training and progressing fully mission qualified crews. www.SOTECH-kmi.com SOTECH 8.9 | 21
Page 1 and 2: Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson C
Page 3 and 4: Sp e c i a l Op e r at i O n S te c
Page 5 and 6: Compiled by KMI Media Group staff B
Page 7 and 8: Compiled by KMI Media Group staff p
Page 9 and 10: www.SOTECH-kmi.com Co u n t e r m e
Page 11 and 12: and in many ways can limit overall
Page 13 and 14: Mulholland Wish List Co m m a n D e
Page 15 and 16: Averting Personnel Injuries weight
Page 17 and 18: LORD MR Suspension Systems are acti
Page 19 and 20: sp e C i a l o p s p e r s o n n e
Page 21: NFS Fights Fires Multiple Ways NFS
Page 25 and 26: mission ready Honeywell Defense Log
Page 27 and 28: Being Let Down Gently olD C H u t e
Page 29 and 30: the standard cable loop canopy rele
Page 31 and 32: compatible with JP8 fuel such as mi
Page 33 and 34: www.atvcorp.com Purpose Built COTS,
Page 35 and 36: And Transparent also does assessmen
Page 37 and 38: The advertisers index is provided a
Page 39 and 40: Next Issue Cover and In-Depth Inter

Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?