Lieutenant Colonel Joel M. Lomasney is a native of New Orleans, LA. Following graduation from Jesuit High School, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1998 and attended recruit training in San Diego, CA. He initially served as an amphibious assault crewman with Alpha Company, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion in Gulfport, MS, and subsequently with Anti-Tank Platoon, 24th Marine Regiment in Kansas City, MO, where he attained the rank of Sergeant. Lieutenant Colonel Lomasney graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Physics and was commissioned in October 2004. Following The Basic School, he received his Naval Aviator wings in July 2007 and subsequently completed MV-22B initial training in 2008.

In 2008 Lieutenant Colonel Lomasney reported to the Thunder Chickens of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263 aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River. While there he deployed twice with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) aboard the USS Bataan, to include the first ever MV-22B MEU deployment, primarily to the Middle East area of operations. He served in various collateral positions to include schedule writer, NATOPS Officer, and Aviation Safety Officer. Upon return from deployment in 2012, he joined Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron (VMMT) 204 where he served as an MV-22B Instructor Pilot providing over 600 hours of aircraft and simulator instruction in addition to 100+ hours of classroom lecture to MV-22B student pilots. He also served as the squadron’s Airframes Division Officer, Legal Officer, and Aviation Safety Officer.

In 2015 Lieutenant Colonel Lomasney was reassigned to 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan, during a period of robust operational tempo in the Pacific area of operations. Initially serving as the Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 36 Aviation Safety Officer, he subsequently became the Executive Officer for Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 1 while concurrently filling the role of MAG-36 MV-22B NATOPS Evaluator. In 2016 he was reassigned to VMM- 262 aboard MCAS Futenma as the squadron prepared to deploy with the 31st MEU. He served as Director of Safety and Standardization, Operations Officer, and finally Executive Officer during numerous multilateral training exercises throughout the Pacific as well as two patrols aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard with the 31st MEU.

Lieutenant Colonel Lomasney returned to Jacksonville, NC, in 2018 and rejoined the Selected Marine Corps Reserves. He initially returned to instructing in the MV-22B as a Marine Corps Reserve Instructor Pilot, augmenting the MV-22B pilot and aircrew training mission with VMMT-204. He then joined MAG-41 in Fort Worth, TX, where he served as the Assistant Group Operations Officer and Exercise Planner. In 2020 he accepted a reassignment to Marine Corps Forces Reserve in New Orleans, LA, where he served as the MARFORRES G-3/5 Current Operations Officer.

Lieutenant Colonel Lomasney has accrued over 2,500 mishap free flight hours in military and civilian aircraft. He is a graduate of the Marine Corps University’s Expeditionary Warfare School and Command and Staff College (seminar). His personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (third award) and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (second award).