Lt. Col. Jeffrey Gaines, Commander, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Gaines is the son of a Navy fighter pilot and a classical musician. He was commissioned as an Army Reserve Signal Officer in 2004 and transferred to the Aviation Branch shortly thereafter. He trained at Fort Rucker, AL, becoming an attack pilot qualified in the AH-64D Apache helicopter. He holds a Bachelors degree in History from Pacific Lutheran University and is a graduate of Command and General Staff College.
His command assignments include: Commander E Forward Support Company, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan; Commander E Forward Support Company, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, Fort Carson Colorado; Commander, 4th Squadron 6th Cavalry Regiment Rear Detachment, Fort Carson Colorado.
LTC Gaines’ key assignments include: Platoon Leader, A Company 2nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion 159th Aviation Regiment in Illesheim, Germany and Balad, Iraq; Assistant Operations Officer for 2-159 ARB, 1-2 ARB, and 1-25 ARB in Mosul Iraq, Illesheim Germany, Fort Carson Colorado, and Tarin Kowt Afghanistan; Deputy Aviation Officer for 2nd Infantry Division (Combined), Camp Red Cloud South Korea, and 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Executive Officer for 7th Squadron 17th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment, Erbil, Iraq, and 1st Battalion 13th Aviation Regiment, Fort Novosel, Alabama; Director, G-1/4 (Personnel and Logistics) United States Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Novosel, Alabama.
LTC Gaines’ operational deployments include: Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09, 09-10 Balad and Mosul Iraq, Operation Enduring Freedom 12-13 Tarin Kowt Afghanistan, and Operation Inherent Resolve 19-20, Erbil Iraq.
LTC Gaines awards include: the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Valorous Unit Citation, and the Meritorious Unity Citation. He is authorized to wear the Combat Action Badge, is a Master Army Aviator rated in the AH-64D/E and OH-58A/C aircraft, and has been awarded the Order of St Michael (Bronze Award).
LTC Gaines is married to the former Kara Osullivan and has one daughter Alexis. Together they have too many cars and dogs.