U N I T E D S T A T E S A I R F O R C E
LIEUTENANT COLONEL THOMAS S. LEE
Lieutenant ColonelThomas S. Lee is currently the Commander, Air Force ROTC Detachment 475 and Professor of Aerospace Studies, University of New Hampshire. Their mission is to recruit, retain and train quality leaders for the Air Force at the University of New Hampshire, surrounding schools, and the geographic area.
Lieutenant Colonel Lee was commissioned from AFROTC at University of Washington in 1997. He has served in assignments at the Squadron, Group, Wing, and Major Command levels. He is a command pilot, having logged over 3,000 hours in tanker and training aircraft. Colonel Lee has deployed overseas multiple times to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, Diego Garcia, BIOT, and Al Udeid AB, Qatar. As the Director of Operations, 54th Air Refueling Squadron, he executed an 11K flying hour program valued at over $195 million and trained more than 600 students per year in 9 different courses. Most recently, as the Commander of the 97th Training Squadron at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, he was responsible for leading five diverse flights, more than 60 permanent party personnel and 2,100 students annually. Colonel Lee oversaw 22 formal school courses and 39 training devices for two major weapons systems through two separate Department of Defense contracts valued at $1.1 billion. He also managed nine training facilities valued at $84.7 million.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
2003 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
2007 Master of Management Science, Troy State University, Montgomery, Alabama
2008 Air Command and Staff College, Correspondence
2009 Joint Mobility Intern (AFIP), Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
2012 Air War College, Correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1.Jan 1997 - Jul 1998, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
2.Aug 1998 - Dec 1998, Initial Qualification Training Copilot, KC-135R, Altus AFB, Oklahoma
3.Dec 1998 - Dec 2001, KC-135R Aircraft Commander, Chief Scheduling 350th Air Refueling Squadron, McConnell AFB, Kansas
4.Dec 2001 - Dec 2004, KC-135R Instructor Pilot and Wing Chief of Exercise and Plans, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan
5.Jan 2005 - Jul 2006, Assistant Director of Operations, 91st Air Refueling Squadron, MacDill AFB, Florida
6.Jul 2006 - Jun 2007, Group Executive Officer, 6th Operations Group, MacDill AFB, Florida
7. Jun 2007 – Apr 2008, Group Standardization and Evaluation, 6th Operations Group, MacDill AFB, Florida
8.Apr 2008 – Jul 2009, Wing Executive Officer, 6th Air Mobility Wing, MacDill AFB, Florida
9. Jul 2009 – Aug 2010, IDE Student, Joint Mobility Intern, HQ Air Mobility
Command, Scott AFB, Illinois
10. Aug 2010 – Feb 2012, Chief, Commander’s Action Group, 618th Air and Space
Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), Scott AFB, Illinois
11. Feb 2012 – Jun 2013, Director of Operations, 54th Air Refueling Squadron, Altus
AFB, Oklahoma
12. Jun 2013 – Jun 2015, Commander, 97th Training Squadron, Altus AFB, Oklahoma
13. Jun 2015– Present, Commander, AFROTC Det 475, University of New Hampshire
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: Over 3,000
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-1, KC-135R/T
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second LieutenantJanuary 18, 1997
First LieutenantJanuary 18, 1999
CaptainJanuary 18, 2001
MajorSeptember 1, 2006
Lieutenant ColonelJanuary 1, 2012
(Current as of July 2016)