Delaware Air National Guard officer and resident of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to be promoted to general in the Delaware National Guard - first female general in history of this state's National Guard unit

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WILMINGTON, Delaware --  Delaware Air National Guard Col. Carol Timmons, the current director of the joint staff, Delaware National Guard, will be promoted on 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 be 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. She joined the Delaware Air National Guard in 1977 after graduating from William Penn H.S. in New Castle, Del. She then served as a helicopter pilot in the Delaware Army National Guard and as a transport pilot in the Air Force Reserve before returning 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 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," said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, adjutant general, Delaware National Guard.

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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