A
native of South Bend, Indiana, Colonel Taylor earned a B. A. in
Political
Science from North Central College in 1975.
He attended United States Marine Corps Officer's Candidate
School and
was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in August 1975.
After completing The Basic School, he reported to Pensacola,
Florida for flight training. Designated
a Naval Aviator in March 1977, he was assigned to HMT-204 for initial
training
in the CH-53D helicopter. He was
subsequently assigned to HMH-461, Marine Corps Air Station New River,
Jacksonville, North Carolina. In
addition to duties as a squadron pilot, he served in the logistics and
NATOPS
departments and was designated an aircraft commander in the CH-53D. While assigned to HMH-461, he participated
in several exercises in the Caribbean and North Atlantic.
After
attending the Marine Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course in 1979 he
was
assigned to HMM‑261 where he was the NATOPS Officer and Squadron
Weapons and
Tactics Instructor. He deployed to the
Mediterranean with HMM-261, returning to New River in February 1980. He was transferred to HMT-204 for duty as an
instructor pilot in the CH-53D. While
there, he held billets in the logistics and aircraft maintenance
departments.
In
1982 he was selected to attend Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico,
Virginia. Upon graduation in May 1983,
he was assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One.
While assigned to HMX-1, he qualified as aircraft commander in
the VH-3D, VH-1N, UH-1N,
CH-46E, and CH-53D. He held billets
in the aircraft maintenance
department, the operations department, and the plans department. In 1985 he was designated a Presidential
Command Pilot and subsequently served as Officer in Charge of several
detachments in support of Presidential travel.
In
January 1988 he reported for duty as Air Operations Officer aboard USS
Guam
(LPH-9), home ported in Norfolk, Virginia.
He deployed with Guam in August 1988 to the Mediterranean,
returning to
Norfolk in February 1989. In February
1990 he detached from Guam and underwent conversion training in the
CH‑53E.
In
May 1990 he reported HMH-464 and was assigned duty as the Operations
Officer. In January 1991 he deployed
with HMH-464 to Saudi Arabia and participated in combat operations in
Kuwait
during Operation Desert Storm. He
returned to CONUS in May 1991.
In
July 1991 he was assigned as the Administrative Officer for MAG-29 and
in
February 1992 he assumed duty as Commanding Officer of Personnel
Support
Detachment 29.
In
September 1992 he was reassigned to HMH-464 as the Executive Officer
and he
assumed the duty of Commanding Officer in December 1993. During February and March 1995, he deployed to Central
Norway as the Aviation Combat Element Commander for II MEF (Forward) in
support
of Exercise Strong Resolve 95. He relinquished command of HMH-464 in
June 1995
and was selected to attend the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.
In
August 1995 he reported to the Naval War College. He graduated with
distinction
and earned a Masters of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic
Studies.
He was subsequently assigned to the Joint Staff, J-7, Joint Doctrine
Division. In July 1997 he was assigned
as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Director, J-7.
In July 1998 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned
to the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, N-88, as the Head of the
Amphibious Aviation Section.
In
July 2000 he returned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One and in June
2001 he
assumed duty as Commanding Officer and Presidential Helicopter Pilot. There he led more than 700 personnel in
support of Presidential and Marine Corps missions and flew more than
150
Presidential flights. In June 2003, he
relinquished command of HMX-1 and retired from the Marine Corps with
more than
28 years of service.
His
personal decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense
Superior
Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, the Air
Medal with
numeral 1, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Navy
Commendation
Medal with gold star. Additionally, he
wears the Presidential Service Badge and the Joint Staff Service Badge.
In
July 2003 he joined AgustaWestland Inc as Director of Navy and Marine
Corps
Programs where he was primarily
involved in the program to replace the Presidential helicopter fleet. In January 2005 AgustaWestland was awarded
the contract to replace the Presidential helicopter fleet.
In July 2005, he accepted a postion with
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration as Deputy Program Manager for
the
Presidential Helicopter Program.
Colonel
Taylor is married to the former Suzette Brown of Jacksonville, North
Carolina. They have two children, a son
Paul who works for Northrop Grumman and daughter Diane , who attends
East
Carlolina University. Colonel Taylor
and his wife currently reside in Lexington Park, Maryland.