Delaware Air National Guard
Col. Carol Timmons, the current director of the joint staff, Delaware National Guard, will be promoted on Saturday May 14 to brigadier general and become the first federally recognized female general officer in the history of the Delaware National Guard. Col. Timmons is a resident of Rehoboth Beach, Del.
A promotion ceremony will occur Saturday, May 14 at 2:00 p.m. inside the Delaware Air National Guard's new maintenance hangar, 2600 Spruance Drive, New Castle, DE 19720, during the unit's monthly drill.
News media are invited. High-resolution photos of Col. Timmons will become available online at http://www.166aw.ang.af.mil.
Colonel Carol Timmons has 34 years of military service, is a command pilot, has served in multiple combat zones and commanded U.S. forces overseas.
Colonel Timmons joined the Delaware Air National Guard in 1977 as an enlisted Airman after graduating in 1976 from William Penn H.S. in New Castle, Del. A desire to fly led to her joining the Delaware Army National Guard in 1980. She received her commission through Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1980, and was appointed as a second lieutenant. She earned her pilot wings (rotary wing aircraft) in 1981 from Fort Rucker, Alabama and served as a helicopter pilot in the Delaware Army National Guard. She joined the Air Force Reserve and received her pilot wings (fixed wing aircraft) in 1985 from Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and served as a transport pilot in the Air Force Reserve. She returned to the Delaware ANG, where she has spent most of her career piloting the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. She is also an accomplished civilian airline pilot with United Airlines.
Colonel Timmons received an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice from Delaware Technical and Community College in 1979, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Aviation Management from Wilmington University, in 1984. She completed Squadron Officer School in 1988, Air Command and Staff College in 1996, and Air War College (via correspondence) in 2006.
Major Gen. Frank Vavala, adjutant general, Delaware National Guard, said, "Colonel Timmons is an exceptionally qualified officer, commander and joint staff director who merits this promotion based on her performance and abilities. Her elevation to this lofty and prestigious position underscores the importance of joint operations in our Delaware National Guard as our forces are in high demand throughout the world, and as we stay prepared to meet homeland security challenges."
As a military pilot Col. Timmons has over 5,000 flying hours in the C-130E, C-130H2, C-141B, T-37, T-38, TH-55, and UH-1H, with over 100 combat flying sorties and over 400 combat flying hours. She has held various positions of increasing responsibility in the Delaware National Guard, and is a veteran of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. She has completed over 20 months of deployments in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, including aircrew and staff positions.
Colonel Timmons was the deputy commander, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, from May 3 to Sept. 3, 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She was presented the Bronze Star Medal on Feb. 5, 2011 for distinguishing herself by meritorious achievement during this period of combat service.
Colonel Timmons' civilian occupation is First Officer for United Airlines flying Boeing 767/757 commercial passenger aircraft with over 8,000 hours of total flying time. She was inducted 2004 into the Delaware Women's Hall of Fame, and she was inducted in 2007 into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame.
This release is in the public domain, and any part may be used as written.
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