Capt. Benjamin Wilson

ehash Assignment: Fighter duty officer with 111th Air Support Operations Squadron, an Air National Guard forward-deployed squadron at Camp Murray, Washington, that supports and directs close air support for ground commanders and forces.

ehash Personal: Wilson followed in his father’s footsteps, retired Lt. Col. Lynn Wilson, to join the Air Force. He started his military career in the Montana State University ROTC program. Originally from Takoma, Washington, Wilson now lives with his family in Gig Harbor.

ehash Capt. Benjamin Wilson was the man behind the scenes during his deployment to Afghanistan, responding to calls for close-air support from tactical airmen on the battlefield.

ehash During his deployment with the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron between February and September 2013, he handled 2,687 requests for close-air support resulting in over 500,000 pounds of ordnance expended, said Maj. David Stilli, detachment commander with the 111th.

ehash It was Wilson’s sixth deployment, but his first to Afghanistan as a fighter duty officer with the Washington Air National Guard.

ehash “I will say his leadership not only overseas, but while CONUS is second to none,” Stilli said. “He is well respected up and down the chain of command.”

ehash As an acting air director, Wilson supported 85,000 coalition troops and found a way to shorten response times for close-air support, said Stilli, who nominated Wilson for 2014 Airman of the Year.

ehash “Captain Wilson established new processes eliminating mission waste freeing up 10 aircraft sorties a day for CAS taskings and decreasing response times by 35 percent,” Stilli said.

ehash Wilson was commissioned in 2005 out of ROTC as an electronic warfare officer on EC-130Hs flying out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, with the 55th Electronic Combat Group. Over the next six years, he deployed five times for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and for missions in Qatar, Columbia and Libya.

ehash He transferred to the Guard in 2011 and said it’s one of the best moves he has made.

ehash “The troops I work with in the Guard are some the best guys you’d ever meet from a professional and tactical standpoint. Bar none, the best. And to me, that’s not something I was expecting,” Wilson said.

ehash Wilson, whose off-duty job is with electric utility Peninsula Light, hopes to stay with his Guard squadron for the rest of his career.

ehash Meanwhile, he is an active volunteer: Peninsula Light shipped school supply donations to Afghanistan on his behalf during his deployment. He volunteers as a community firefighter and as a YMCA swim coach. He set up and walked in two “Relay for Life” cancer events.

ehash And he volunteered more than 50 hours of his time to raise $3,500 for the Key Peninsula Red Barn Youth Center Energy Conservation Project.

ehash “It gets dark around 4 p.m. here, and the kids that get off the school buses get off on a small highway — we worked on [providing] lighting for them to get home safely,” he said of the project.

ehash Wilson also works on various projects to educate community members on how best to conserve power.

ehash — Oriana Pawlyk

ehash