Col. Jason T. Cook, 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group
Col. Jason T. Cook was commissioned from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, in 1997 as an Aviation officer.
After flight school and the AH-64A Apache transition at Fort Rucker, Alabama, he was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a platoon leader in B Co., 3-229th Aviation Regiment, and later as the 229th Aviation Regiment HHC XO. In 2001, Cook was assigned to the U.S. European Command J33 staff in Stuttgart, Germany, as an Army Aviation planner for the Balkans region. After the Aviation Captain's Career Course in 2002, Cook served as the plans officer for 6th Cavalry Brigade at Camp Humphreys, Korea, for a year, then returned to Fort Rucker as the 1st Aviation Brigade S-1. In January 2005, Cook took command of A Co., 1-14 Aviation Regiment – the AH-64 Flight School XXI training company – and attended both AH-64A and AH-64D instructor pilot courses. In September 2006, Cook reported to Middle Wallop, England, as an aviation exchange officer, where he attended the British joint Qualified Helicopter Instructor course and was then assigned to 673 Squadron as an AH Mk1 Apache flight commander and instructor pilot. In 2008, Cook was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, as a combat advisor, deploying to Iraq with his military transition team where they were attached as trainers to the 14th (Iraqi) Infantry Brigade. In 2010, he was assigned to 4-2 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Camp Humphreys, where he served for two years as the S-3 and an Apache instructor pilot for the battalion. Cook next attended the USAF Air Command and Staff College in 2012, and was subsequently assigned to the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, in 2013 as the Eagle Team deputy aviation trainer and later the aviation operations trainer. In 2015 he deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait as the U.S. Army Central deputy aviation officer. Cook took command of 1-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas, in June 2016 and commanded "First Attack" for the next 25 months, culminating with a nine-month rotation to Europe in support of OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE. Following command, Cook served with the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as the chief warfighter exercise trainer for combat aviation brigades. His latest assignment was as a student at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA.
Cook's decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the Parachutist Badge, the UK Army Aviator Badge, and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. He is a Master Army Aviator and qualified in the AH-64A, AH-64D, AH-64E, AH Mk1 Apache (UK), TH-67, OH-58A/C, and AS 350B (UK) helicopters.