Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group
Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group
Air Warrior Col. John W. Thompson - KMI Media Group
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Q&A<br />
Needed: More <strong>Air</strong> Assets, Better Vision Gear, Transparent Armor<br />
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Warrior</strong><br />
<strong>Col</strong>onel <strong>John</strong> W. <strong>Thompson</strong><br />
Commander<br />
160th Special Operations<br />
Aviation Regiment (<strong>Air</strong>borne)<br />
<strong>Col</strong>onel <strong>John</strong> W. <strong>Thompson</strong>, a native of Augusta, Ga., was commissioned<br />
a second lieutenant in the United States Army upon<br />
graduation from North Georgia <strong>Col</strong>lege in 1987.<br />
Upon completion of the Aviation Officer Basic and OH-58 <strong>Air</strong>craft<br />
Qualifications courses at Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1988, he was assigned<br />
to 4th Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Feucht, Germany.<br />
His assignments included Aeroweapons Platoon Leader, Aeroscout<br />
Platoon Leader and Squadron Assistant Operations Officer.<br />
<strong>Thompson</strong> has since served in a variety of aviation and special<br />
operations positions to include troop commander and division<br />
aviation plans officer, 101st <strong>Air</strong>borne Division (<strong>Air</strong> Assault), Fort<br />
Campbell, Ky.; Platoon Leader, Special Mission Unit liaison officer<br />
and company commander, 1st Bn., 160th Special Operations Aviation<br />
Regiment (<strong>Air</strong>borne), Fort Campbell, Ky.; executive officer, 82nd<br />
Aviation Brigade and operations officer, 2nd Bn. 82nd Aviation Bde.,<br />
Fort Bragg, N.C.; joint planner, Joint Special Operations Command,<br />
Fort Bragg, N.C.; and squadron commander, 4th Squadron, 3rd<br />
Armored Cavalry Regiment and 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment,<br />
Fort Carson, <strong>Col</strong>o. He most recently graduated from the U.S.<br />
Army War <strong>Col</strong>lege at Carlisle Barracks, Pa.<br />
He is a combat veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert<br />
Storm, and has multiple deployments in support of Enduring Freedom<br />
and Iraqi Freedom.<br />
<strong>Thompson</strong>’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze<br />
Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the <strong>Air</strong> Medal with numeral<br />
two, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service<br />
Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Combat Action Badge, the<br />
Master Army Aviator Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the <strong>Air</strong><br />
Assault Badge.<br />
Q: Let’s jump in and talk about the physical growth of the 160th.<br />
Changes in 2008 created identical organization structure in the<br />
battalions. How are things going in bringing everything up to<br />
operational strength?<br />
A: This is a great place to start. The 160th Special Operations Aviation<br />
Regiment (<strong>Air</strong>borne) has made steady progress on both strategic realignment<br />
of current assets and growth of personnel and equipment<br />
during the past two years.<br />
We now have nearly 3,000 soldiers serving in our ranks, keeping<br />
us on track to meet our current approved growth of 3,600 by 2015. We<br />
anticipate our MH-47G model Chinook fielding to be complete next<br />
spring, and our MH-60M model Black Hawk fielding to be complete<br />
in 2015.<br />
Reorganization of our current assets for three of our four line<br />
companies to have identical organizational structure is also making<br />
great progress. Our 4th Battalion on the West Coast now has a<br />
fully operational Black Hawk helicopter company supporting both<br />
combat and training missions around the globe. Our 2nd Battalion<br />
in Kentucky will begin incorporating Black Hawk helicopters in<br />
late 2011.<br />
Q: Last year, there was a spotlight on the call for more special<br />
operations rotary wing assets in Afghanistan. At an operator level,<br />
was there a real need for additional platforms? If so, has the<br />
requirement gap been filled or are there still things in the works to<br />
bridge the gap?<br />
A: There is definitely a demand beyond our means for additional<br />
helicopter support to ongoing and increasing special operations<br />
missions around the world. As special operations ground<br />
forces grow, the demand for aerial support to complete their<br />
missions naturally increases. This gap is not unique to special<br />
operations units. We are working with leaders at all levels and<br />
across different organizations to address this challenge. Specifically<br />
for Afghanistan, there is a plan for us to increase support<br />
incrementally as the regiment grows combat power by fielding additional<br />
aircraft while simultaneously training and progressing fully<br />
mission qualified crews.<br />
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