Lt Col Craig Needham, T-6 Academic Instructor
Major Needham graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1987. He received his Air Force wings from Williams Air Force Base in 1989. After Pilot Training, he was assigned to the 10th Military Airlift Squadron in Zweibrucken, Germany. There he flew cargo missions throughout the demanding European theater in the C-23 Sherpa. In 1991 he was assigned to fly the C-130E Hercules at Pope AFB, NC. There he flew worldwide airlift and airdrop missions, from Alaska to Southwest Asia, with a heavy concentration in mass formation airdrop. From there he was assigned to the 317th Airlift Squadron at Charleston AFB SC where he continued his airlift/airdrop career in the Air Force’s new C-17 Globemaster III.
Craig has accumulated over 3500 hours of military flying as an aircraft commander, flight instructor, and flight examiner. He left the active duty in 1997 and now flies for Delta Air Lines as a 737 pilot. He lives in Carrollton, Ga., with his wife, Colleen, and two daughters, Sydney and Lacey.