ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- In his message to the men and women who comprise the 716th Test Squadron, Lt. Col. Jason Thomas shared several reasons he is excited for his latest assignment.
Among them is the 716 TS mission.
“The fingerprints of this unit are all over the history of American air dominance,” Thomas said. “The aircraft that have kept this nation free – the fighters, bombers, transports, weapons, rockets, missiles that our adversaries have feared and our allies have depended upon, they came through these facilities and they were shaped by your analysis.
“That is a legacy worth inheriting, and I am honored by it.”
Thomas assumed leadership of the 716 TS during a June 10 Change of Command ceremony at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex.
The 716 TS provides high-fidelity wind tunnel data and analysis to bolster the development of air vehicles, space vehicles and weapons systems in support of national security programs. The squadron is made up of several wind tunnels at Arnold AFB as well as AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland, and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, California.
While Thomas said it is easy to be impressed by the scale of AEDC mission areas, he stressed that the people who work in the test cells and those who support their efforts are the true assets of the Complex.
“I want to be clear that hardware alone is not what makes this place great,” he said. “A wind tunnel is only as useful as the team that runs it. It takes engineers to understand aerodynamics deeply enough to design models that faithfully represent the real phenomena. It takes technicians skilled enough to instrument those models to within thousandths of an inch. It takes operators to know these tunnels, their tendencies, quirks and history well enough to trust the data that they produce. And when the run is complete and the raw numbers are in the database, it takes analysts to take that data and turn it into information so they can tell you not just what happened but why and what to do about it.
“None of that is learned from a textbook alone. It is built through years of training, mentorship and experience that only comes from running test after test, season after season.”
Thomas was commissioned in 2009 from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado after completing his Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering. He received a Master of Science in the same area of study in 2014 from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio and earned a Master of Science in flight test engineering from U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in California in 2017.
Thomas also completed the Air and Space Basic Course, Squadron Officer School, and Air Command and Staff College through Air University located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
Throughout his Air Force career, Thomas has amassed experience in hypersonic propulsion and vehicle design, nuclear surety, fighter aircraft avionics, and long-range weapons testing.
From May 2021 to June 2024, Thomas acted as the Long Range Weapons director for the 780th Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Prior to assuming command of the 716 TS, Thomas served as director of operations of the 46th Test Squadron at Eglin AFB.
To close his speech, Thomas left the men and women of the 716 TS with a charge, a promise and a commitment. He asked that those in the squadron never lose sight of the significant role they play in national defense. He added that he will rely on the expertise of 716 TS team members throughout his tenure as squadron commander. He also said he will be an “unceasing advocate” for the squadron, its people and its mission.
“I am genuinely honored to be here,” Thomas said. “I did not take this command lightly, and I do not intend to lead it lightly. You have my full effort, my full attention and my full commitment. Let’s get to work.”