thedrifter
01-31-06, 10:53 AM
Saying goodbye
Over the course of his 20-year military career Lt. Col. Wilbert E. Thomas has been deployed around the world. Now he faces another challenge -- leaving Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for National War College enrollment.
Published Tuesday January 31 2006
Story by LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
After experiencing the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, at the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Wilbert E. Thomas still considers commanding the men and women of Beaufort-based VMFA Squadron 224 in Iraq the culmination of his career.
But it is family -- his own and his fellow Marines' and sailors' -- that keeps him centered.
"I was just fortunate I took command," Thomas said with a calm, earnest demeanor. "I knew the squadron was deploying to Iraq. Going through Sept. 11 and having the chance to deploy to Iraq was something I was fortunate to do."
Thomas became commanding officer of the squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in June 2004 and on Friday relinquished command to pursue further education at the National War College in Washington.
Before leading the squadron, Thomas worked at the Pentagon from 2001 to 2004. He said that on Sept. 11 he was on the opposite end of the building from the plane crash, but he still found himself engulfed in the chaos that followed.
He lost many friends.
On the wall behind his desk, Thomas had a photo of the Pentagon on Sept. 11 framed, with signatures from co-workers on the mat around it.
"I have firsthand experience of how lethal the enemy is, a very elusive enemy," Thomas said. "We take the fight to them, so our families and Americans don't have to face that again."
When he took command of VMFA 224, named the Bengals, Thomas said he and the 210 Marines of the squadron worked solely on preparing for their six-month deployment to Al Asad, Iraq, from January to September 2005, when they ran flight combat missions in their 12 F/A-18D Hornets.
"Nothing focuses a squadron better than to take a squadron to combat," Thomas said.
Since combat missions were performed in top-of-the-line planes, Thomas said his squadron faced little enemy fire and worried mostly about complacency as the members amassed more than 2,700 flight hours during the mission. The closest call came in May when a mortar launched by insurgents landed 100 meters from where his squadron was working, which he said got everyone's attention.
In the end, Thomas achieved his goal of taking 210 Marines and Navy sailors to Iraq and returning all of them.
Not that anyone in the squadron doubted he would.
"I knew the whole time, if anything bad were to happen, he'd take care of us," Cpl. Matthew Wagner said. He said he appreciated Thomas' birthday letters and personal recognition of a job done well.
Sgt. Maj. William Burton said what makes Thomas stand out is his personal touch. Thomas knows every Marine, every Marine's wife name and their children, which Burton said is a huge boost in morale, especially in combat.
"He's going to be missed by families," Burton said, adding that Thomas would send out birth announcements for squadron members who had a new baby.
And Burton said he'll miss his commander as his friend, who he said leaves no doubt of his sincerity.
"We'd talk about family issues," he said. "There's nothing we haven't discussed about life."
Family is something integral to Thomas' life. While talking about eight extended deployments during his 20-year military career, from Italy to Somalia to Iraq, he mentioned how lucky he was to have a supportive wife, Katie.
They have three children, Alena, 15, Will, 13, and Evan, 5, who, between three deployments in Beaufort, feel this is where they've grown up. As they get older, being deployed gets harder, Thomas said.
"The reality is when we're getting ready to go to Iraq, you realize as they become middle-schoolers and teenagers, you know after high school, they're off to college."
Now the family is off to Washington, where Thomas will participate in a one-year program at the War College, where he plans to earn a master's degree in national security and strategic study. The last time Thomas was in school was when he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1985, and he said he sees this as a nice break.
After college, Thomas said he hopes to work at the Pentagon again, but he said he probably won't be able to return to Beaufort unless he's chosen for one of the two highly selective commanding posts at the air station.
However, Thomas said he's confident the Bengals will continue to succeed under the command of Lt. Col. Lex A. Brown, with whom he served in his first two assignments in Beaufort, in 1994 and 1997.
Burton and Wagner said they think the squadron will have a smooth transition under Brown, who deployed with Squadron 224 last year to Iraq, but they will miss having Thomas there.
"He was always putting us first," Wagner said. "I'm sad to see him go, but I know he has greater things to come."
Ellie
Over the course of his 20-year military career Lt. Col. Wilbert E. Thomas has been deployed around the world. Now he faces another challenge -- leaving Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for National War College enrollment.
Published Tuesday January 31 2006
Story by LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
After experiencing the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, at the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Wilbert E. Thomas still considers commanding the men and women of Beaufort-based VMFA Squadron 224 in Iraq the culmination of his career.
But it is family -- his own and his fellow Marines' and sailors' -- that keeps him centered.
"I was just fortunate I took command," Thomas said with a calm, earnest demeanor. "I knew the squadron was deploying to Iraq. Going through Sept. 11 and having the chance to deploy to Iraq was something I was fortunate to do."
Thomas became commanding officer of the squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in June 2004 and on Friday relinquished command to pursue further education at the National War College in Washington.
Before leading the squadron, Thomas worked at the Pentagon from 2001 to 2004. He said that on Sept. 11 he was on the opposite end of the building from the plane crash, but he still found himself engulfed in the chaos that followed.
He lost many friends.
On the wall behind his desk, Thomas had a photo of the Pentagon on Sept. 11 framed, with signatures from co-workers on the mat around it.
"I have firsthand experience of how lethal the enemy is, a very elusive enemy," Thomas said. "We take the fight to them, so our families and Americans don't have to face that again."
When he took command of VMFA 224, named the Bengals, Thomas said he and the 210 Marines of the squadron worked solely on preparing for their six-month deployment to Al Asad, Iraq, from January to September 2005, when they ran flight combat missions in their 12 F/A-18D Hornets.
"Nothing focuses a squadron better than to take a squadron to combat," Thomas said.
Since combat missions were performed in top-of-the-line planes, Thomas said his squadron faced little enemy fire and worried mostly about complacency as the members amassed more than 2,700 flight hours during the mission. The closest call came in May when a mortar launched by insurgents landed 100 meters from where his squadron was working, which he said got everyone's attention.
In the end, Thomas achieved his goal of taking 210 Marines and Navy sailors to Iraq and returning all of them.
Not that anyone in the squadron doubted he would.
"I knew the whole time, if anything bad were to happen, he'd take care of us," Cpl. Matthew Wagner said. He said he appreciated Thomas' birthday letters and personal recognition of a job done well.
Sgt. Maj. William Burton said what makes Thomas stand out is his personal touch. Thomas knows every Marine, every Marine's wife name and their children, which Burton said is a huge boost in morale, especially in combat.
"He's going to be missed by families," Burton said, adding that Thomas would send out birth announcements for squadron members who had a new baby.
And Burton said he'll miss his commander as his friend, who he said leaves no doubt of his sincerity.
"We'd talk about family issues," he said. "There's nothing we haven't discussed about life."
Family is something integral to Thomas' life. While talking about eight extended deployments during his 20-year military career, from Italy to Somalia to Iraq, he mentioned how lucky he was to have a supportive wife, Katie.
They have three children, Alena, 15, Will, 13, and Evan, 5, who, between three deployments in Beaufort, feel this is where they've grown up. As they get older, being deployed gets harder, Thomas said.
"The reality is when we're getting ready to go to Iraq, you realize as they become middle-schoolers and teenagers, you know after high school, they're off to college."
Now the family is off to Washington, where Thomas will participate in a one-year program at the War College, where he plans to earn a master's degree in national security and strategic study. The last time Thomas was in school was when he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1985, and he said he sees this as a nice break.
After college, Thomas said he hopes to work at the Pentagon again, but he said he probably won't be able to return to Beaufort unless he's chosen for one of the two highly selective commanding posts at the air station.
However, Thomas said he's confident the Bengals will continue to succeed under the command of Lt. Col. Lex A. Brown, with whom he served in his first two assignments in Beaufort, in 1994 and 1997.
Burton and Wagner said they think the squadron will have a smooth transition under Brown, who deployed with Squadron 224 last year to Iraq, but they will miss having Thomas there.
"He was always putting us first," Wagner said. "I'm sad to see him go, but I know he has greater things to come."
Ellie