Colonel John D. Thomas

United States Air Force (Retired) 
President, Defense Studies Institute

Colonel John D. Thomas is the President of the Defense Studies Institute (DSI).  He directs DSI’s daily activities and operations. He supervises the research and publication of DSI's guidebooks.  Colonel Thomas also orchestrates educational DSI conferences and symposiums. These conferences are attended by representatives from the Department of Defense (DoD), prime defense contractors, and small business leaders across the United States.  Colonel Thomas is the author of numerous guidebooks, publications, and postgraduate courses related to government contracting and the defense acquisition process. He has served as a professor of government contracting with the Florida Coastal School of Law. Colonel Thomas possesses a Defense Acquisition Management Certification and has over 20 years’ experience as a DoD acquisition program manager and government contracting professional.   Colonel John D. Thomas is a 1979 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He is also a 1985 graduate of the Air Force Institute of Technology where he earned a Master of Science degree. Colonel Thomas is a 2001 graduate of Air War College.

Colonel John D. Thomas United States Air Force (Retired) President, Defense Studies Institute

Early in his Air Force career, Colonel Thomas served as the commander of a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch Complex. Later he helped to activate two new missile bases at Comiso Air Station (Italy) and RAF Molesworth (United Kingdom). In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Missile Treaty. Colonel Thomas was selected as the Logistics Officer for implementing this Treaty. Following this assignment, Colonel Thomas served as the Chief of North European Initiatives where he developed the initial plans for the re-structuring of U.S. Air Force operations and bases across the United Kingdom in response to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Colonel Thomas has served in a wide variety of defense acquisition assignments that include Program Manager for the C-27J Spartan Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA). He also served with key defense acquisition programs such as the F-22 stealth fighter, and the Airborne Laser. Colonel Thomas has served on a number of senior headquarters staffs to include: the Air Staff at the Pentagon, U.S. Southern Command, United States Air Forces in Europe, Air Force Materiel Command, Air Force Reserve Command, Aeronautical Systems Center, and the Air Force Security Assistance Center.  

Colonel Thomas now resides at Sanibel Manor House and Botanical Gardens located on the lovely Oak Grove Island along the Golden Isles Coast of Southeastern Georgia. 

Guidebooks authored by Colonel Thomas:  How to Successfully Bid on Military Base Contracts  How to Subcontract with Prime Defense Contractors  How to Effectively Market and Sell to Military Bases  Dealing with Difficult People in the Workplace How to Get a Civilian Job at a Military Base