Tom’s military career commenced with enlisted service (6 years) with the U.S. Naval Reserve, followed by over 28 years of active service with the United States Marine Corps.

During Tom’s Marine Corps career, he was the Commanding Officer of two Marine Corps Squadrons (H&HS, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, and VMGR-352 El Toro), and the Commanding Officer of Marine Air Control Group-48, Naval Air Station, Glenview, IL, with 11 Marine units in 8 States. He served two combat tours of duty in Viet Nam, served in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and flew combat support missions during both Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Tom also held high level staff tours in both the Pacific and European theaters, and had logged over 12,000 flight hours.

Upon retiring from the Marine Corps in 1992, Tom was recruited by Alexis International and assigned as Senior Program Manager for the establishment of a formal training program and facilities for the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, with headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Following the completion of that program, Tom relocated to Southern California, and was hired as Deputy Executive Director for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA). Tom had responsibility and oversight for maintaining direct contact with representative from the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of the Navy (DON), as well as County/City Government Agencies and community outreach organizations.

Shortly after ensuring that there would be no commercial airport at the former Marine Base, Tom was recruited by the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) and served as the Government Liaison Officer. In that capacity, Tom continues to serve as a consultant on an “as needed” basis for the TCA.

Tom is currently active on the Advisory Board for the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, assists with the Annual Marine Corps / West Coast Region Wounded Warrior Trials, served for over 5 years as a Commissioner on the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, and served on the Board of Directors for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation (West Coast Division).