Col. Thomas Hutton is the Commander of the 507th Air Refueling Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The 507th Air Refueling Wing consists of three subordinate groups, eleven squadrons employing over 1,100 citizen Airmen, and reports to Fourth Air Force. The wing operates and maintains eight KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft providing world-wide aerial refueling, aeromedical, and airlift capacity to U.S. and allied nations in support of Air Mobility Command's rapid global mobility, United States Strategic Command's alert and emergency war order, and Air Education Command’s formal training unit missions.

Prior to arriving at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Col. Hutton was Commander of the 100th Operations Group (OG), Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall, United Kingdom. The 100 OG is responsible for the planning, scheduling, and execution of all United States Air Forces in Europe – United States Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAF) air refueling operations as well as the mission readiness, mobilization, employment, training, and standardization of 15 KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft and 245 permanently assigned aircrew and support personnel. Col. Hutton earned his commission in 2000 from the United States Air Force Academy. He has held a variety of positions at the squadron, group, wing, and Joint Staff levels. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in tanker and trainer aircraft. Col. Hutton has flown combat and combat support sorties in Operations JOINT FORGE, SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, and NOBLE EAGLE.

EDUCATION
2000 Bachelor of Science, Military Doctrine, Operations, and Strategy, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO
2006 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
2008 Master of Science, Aeronautical Safety, Embry Riddle, FL
2009 Air Command and Staff College, by Correspondence
2013 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
2013 Joint Forces Staff College, JPME II, NSA Norfolk, VA
2020 NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy

ASSIGNMENTS
August 2000 – April 2001, Assistant Maintenance Officer, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
May 2001 – June 2002, Student, Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance Air Force Base, OK
September 2002 – December 2002, Student, KC-135 Initial Qualification Training, Altus AFB, OK
December 2002 – June 2006, KC-135 Pilot/Aircraft Commander, Wing Scheduler and Executive Officer, 911 ARS, Grand Forks, ND
July 2006 – October 2006, Student, T-6A Pilot Instructor Training, Randolph AFB, TX
October 2006 – December 2009, T-6A Instructor Pilot, Flight Commander and Group Executive Officer, 8 Flying Training Squadron and 71 Operation Group, Vance AFB, OK
December 2009 – June 2012, KC-135 Instructor/Evaluator, Chief Current Operations and Wing Executive Officer, 92 ARS and 92 ARW, Fairchild AFB, WA
June 2012 – June 2013, Student, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
June 2013 – February 2016, Joint Plans Observer/Trainer, Joint Staff, J7, Suffolk, VA
March 2016 – June 2016, Student, Instructor Pilot Requalification Training, Altus AFB, OK
June 2016 – December 2018, Operations Officer, 911 ARS, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
December 2018 – May 2019, Commander, 911 ARS, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
May 2019 – January 2020, Deputy Commander, 916 Operations Group, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
January 2020 – July 2020, Student, NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy
July 2020 – July 2021, Deputy Chief, A34, Mobility Operations Division, 603d Air Operations Center, Ramstein AB, Germany
July 2020 – June 2022, Chief, A34, Mobility Operations Division, 603d Air Operations Center, Ramstein AB, Germany
June 2022 – September 2025, Commander, 100 Operations Group, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom.
September 2025 – Present, Commander, 507th Air Refueling Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
Jun 2013 – Feb 2016, Joint Plans Observer/Trainer, Joint Staff, J7, Suffolk, VA, as a Major and Lieutenant Colonel

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: Over 3000 hours
Aircraft Flown: KC-135R/T, T-6A

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 2000
First Lieutenant May 31, 2002
Captain May 31, 2004
Major March 1, 2010
Lieutenant Colonel August 1, 2015
Colonel June 1, 2021

(Current as of September 2025)