Tommy Shea is a Major in the US Air Force. He is a Flight Commander and UH-1N Special Missions Instructor Pilot assigned to the 811th Operations Support Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

 

Tommy was born in Flushing, New York, on 25 January 1982. After graduating high school, Maj Shea attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he graduated June of 2005 as a 2nd Lieutenant with a Bachelors of Science in Management.

 

Upon his graduation, Major Shea spent the next year of active duty as the Mobility Officer in Charge for the 20th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida. June of 2006, he attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB, Texas. This would be followed by six months at Ft. Rucker, Alabama where he completed Specialized Undergraduate Training – Helicopters and received the Military Leadership Award.

 

Upon completion he attended the Survive, Evade, Resist, and Escape(S.E.R.E.) course at Fairchild AFB, Washington. Once completed, he departed to Kirtland AFB,New Mexico where he started the initial qualification course for the UH-1N. Major Shea’s first operational flying assignment was at the 54th Helicopter Squadron, Minot AFB, North Dakota. While at the 54th Helicopter Squadron,  Major Shea had been a two time Professional Performer/Team for the 2008 Combat Capabilities Evaluation and the Nuclear Security Inspection/Operational Readiness Inspection. Major Shea was also the recipient of the 2009 Company Grade Officer of the Year and Aircrew of the Year for the 91st Operations Group.

 

After a successful tour at Minot Air Force Base, Major Shea reported to Headquarters Twentieth Air Force in July of 2011 as the Chief of Helicopter Standardization and Evaluations under the Director of Operations. While there, he received Company Grade Officer of the Quarter for the third quarter in 2012. In November 2013, Major Shea went on a year deployment to Afghanistan as an Air Advisor and Mi-17 evaluator pilot in support Operation Enduring Freedom. Major Shea reported to the 1st Helicopter Squadron in November 2014.

 

Academically, Major Shea has a B.S. in Management from the Air Force Academy (2005) and M.A. in Homeland Security through American Military University (2013).