Brigadier General Thomas J. Lien is the chief of staff, Headquarters, South Dakota Air National Guard, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As the chief of staff, he is directly responsible for the Headquarters element of the South Dakota Air National Guard.
General Lien entered military service in August 1967 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He trained as a helicopter pilot and became a Warrant Officer in August 1968, followed by a direct promotion to First Lieutenant in April, 1970. His training led him to a combat tour in South Vietnam during May 1970 to May 1971 where he served as a helicopter pilot and Aviation Unit Commander. He was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1971 and served in the U.S. Army Reserve until joining the South Dakota Air National Guard in January, 1974. At that time, he received a direct commission to First Lieutenant and entered pilot training. General Lien has served in various assignments with the 114th Fighter Wing to include: Instructor Pilot, Flight Examiner, Asst D Flight Commander, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, Deputy Commander for Operations and 114th Fighter Wing Commander from October 1992 until October 2002. As Wing Commander, he led the unit transition to the F-16C, its first F-16C Operational Readiness Inspection, and its first F-16C European deployment. General Lien coordinated five Southwest Asia deployments to cover the no fly zone over Northern and Southern Iraq. He is a command pilot with more than 5,200 flying hours..
1976 Bachelor of science degree, double major, economics and geography, South Dakota
State University, Brookings, South Dakota
1976 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1981 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1984 National Security Management Course, by correspondence
1. April 1970 ' May 1970, helicopter pilot, United States Army, Furth Army Airfield, West Germany, Ft Rucker, Ala.
2. May 1970 ' May 1971, helicopter pilot, aviation unit commander, U.S. Army, Republic of South Vietnam
3. May 1971 ' December 1971, helicopter pilot, personnel control facility commander, U.S. Army, Ft Knox, Ky.
4. December 1971 ' January 1974, inactive reserve, United States Army, Brookings, South Dakota
5. January 1974 ' June 1975, student, undergraduate pilot training, 82nd Student Squadron, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
6. June 1975 ' February 1976, student, F-100D upgrade training, 162 Tactical Fighter Training Group, Tucson, Ariz.
7. February 1976 ' October 1981, squadron fighter pilot, 175th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Sioux Falls,
S. D.
8. October 1981 ' June 1982, assistant D flight commander, 175th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Sioux Falls, S. D.
9. June 1982 ' February 1987, chief of standardization and evaluation, 114th Tactical Fighter Group, Sioux Falls, S. D.
10. February 1987 ' October 1992, deputy commander for operations, 114th Tactical Fighter Group, Sioux Falls, S. D.
11. October 1992 - October 2002, commander, 114th Fighter Wing, Sioux Falls, S. D.
12. October 2002 - present, chief of staff, Headquarters South Dakota Air National Guard, Sioux Falls,
S. D.
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 5,200
Aircraft Flown: TH-55, OH-13, UH-1, OH-58, CH-54, T-37, T-38, F-100, A-7, F-16
Pilot wings from: Fort Rucker, Alabama/Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with eight oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award with seven oak leaf clusters
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass device
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one device
Air Force Training Ribbon
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
State of South Dakota Distinguished Service Ribbon
State of South Dakota Distinguished Unit Ribbon with oak leaf cluster
State of South Dakota National Guard Service Ribbon with four oak leaf clusters
State of South Dakota Desert Storm Ribbon
Program Manager Sioux Valley Hospital Intensive Air
First Lieutenant Apr 3, 1970
Captain Apr 3, 1971
First Lieutenant Jan 21, 1974
Captain Jul 20, 1976
Major Sep 4, 1980
Lieutenant Colonel Nov 3, 1984
Colonel Nov 7, 1992
Brigadier General Jun 1, 2003
(Current as of October 2003)
The date of publication indicated on this biography reflects the most recent update. It does not necessarily reflect the date of printing.