MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The 908th Airlift Wing added an extremely large amount of C-130 experience to its team when Col. Casey J. Burril joined as the wing’s new vice commander.
Burril enlisted in the Air Force in 1991, and his first assignment was as a loadmaster with the famed “Flying Jennies” of the 815th Tactical Airlift Squadron. After earning the rank of Staff Sgt., Burril left the 711th Special Operations Squadron to attend Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base. Once commissioned, he returned to Eglin Air Force Base spending his first 4 years as a MC-130E navigator before becoming a pilot on the same aircraft.
Since then, he has been a pilot, aircraft commander, instructor, evaluator, and the 919th Special Operations Wing’s Chief of Standardization and Evaluation. During that time frame he graduated Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and earned his Masters degree in Business Administration from California Coast University.
After serving as the assistant Director of Operations for the 711th SOS Burril then spent time in two key leadership positions, first as the 711th ESOS commander and then as the commander of the 919th Special Operations Support Squadron, while also completing Air War College during that time frame.
More recently he was promoted to Colonel and served as the wing reserve coordinator for the Civil Air Patrol and prior to joining the 908th he was an emergency preparedness liaison officer.
“The chief and I are very happy to have Col. Burril as our new wing vice commander,” explained Col. Craig Drescher, commander of the 908th Airlift Wing. “Col. Burril lives nearby in Alabama and has thousands of C-130 hours as a Load Master, Navigator and Pilot. That’s a lot of valuable experience coming to this wing.”
Drescher is correct as Burril has more than 6,600 total flying hours, having flown more than 1,500 combat and combat support hours providing direct support of operations in multiple areas of responsibility including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.