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Marines


Biography

 

Colonel Patrick F. Tiernan
Assistant Wing Commander
4th Marine Aircraft Wing

Colonel Patrick Tiernan is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.  He joined the Marine Corps via the PLC Program, was commissioned in September of 1996 and designated a Marine aviator in January of 1999.  Subsequently, Colonel Tiernan was ordered to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina to VMGRT-253 for training in the KC-130 and completed his initial training at VMGR-352 in February of 2000.
  
From 2000 until 2007 Colonel Tiernan served two tours at VMGR-352 and one tour with the 15th MEU(SOC). Colonel Tiernan held the billets of Adjutant, Avionics Officer, Flight Duty Officer, Aircrew Training Officer, and Operations Officer and deployed in support of Exercises Ulchi Focus Lens, Bright Star, Operation Enduring Freedom, and twice for Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He also participated in Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief missions in support of JTF Katrina in 2005 and JTF Lebanon in 2006.  He successfully graduated from MAWTS-1 as a Weapons & Tactics Instructor and converted to the KC-130J.
 
Colonel Tiernan joined the Selected Marine Corps Reserves in February of 2007 and affiliated with VMGR-234 and MALS-11 for five years.  During this time, he was Aircrew Training Officer, Assistant Operations Officer and Executive Officer and supported Exercise African Lion in 2008 and 2010 as well as Exercise Cobra Gold 2011 where he was Detachment Officer in Charge.  He also led numerous multi-plane detachments in support of squadron operations and training stateside.  In the fall of 2011 Colonel Tiernan was slated to be Commanding Officer of VMGR-234.

During his tenure as Commanding Officer, VMGR-234 surpassed 153,000 Class A mishap-free flight hours and flew over 2,300 sorties while supporting combined and joint missions on six continents with maintenance contributing over 61,800 maintenance man-hours.  The squadron was awarded the Chief of Naval Operations Aviation Safety Award and the Henry Wildfang Award for Marine Aerial Refueler Transportation Squadron of the Year in 2012, as well as the Secretary of the Navy Safety Excellence Award in 2013. On 18 March 2014, VMGR-234 received the first Marine Forces Reserve KC-130J.

Upon completion of command from 2014 until 2019, Colonel Tiernan attended top level school and then joined the Individual Marine Augment program where he supported the CO, Kaneohe Bay and then the CG, 3rd MAW for duties as C-20G pilot and FOPSO supporting MEFEX, Summer Fury, Steel Knight and Pacific Blitz.

From 2019 until 2021, Col Tiernan was assigned to MAG-41, 4th MAW, where he served as Deputy Group Commander/Senior Reserve Advisor to one of the largest and diverse MAGs in the Marine Corps.  Spread across six states, with 8 different type/model/series aircraft, and over 3,000 Marines, he assisted in the execution of the wings sortie-based training plan and deployed to Kodiak, Alaska for IRT Kodiak Arctic Care.

Recently he served on the I-MEF reserve staff as LNO to C3F and attended NATO Defense College.
  
Throughout his career, Colonel Tiernan has accumulated over 4,300 mishap-free flight hours in the KC-130F/R/T/J, C-20G, UH-1Y, AH-1Z, and the MV-22.  He is a KC-130 NATOPS Instructor and Weapons & Tactics Instructor as well as a NATOPS Instructor in the C-20G.  He has attended SERE School, Security Managers Course, Senior Officer Legal Course, Aviation Safety Commanders Course, Commanders Course, Reserve Senior Staff Course, Amphibious Warfare School (DEP), Command & Staff School (DEP), College of Naval Warfare, and NATO Defense College.  
 
As a civilian, Colonel Tiernan is currently a Captain with Southwest Airlines.