Eric Himler

Major, U.S. Marine Corps

Major Eric Himler graduated from Skyline High School in Longmont, Colorado, in 1988 where he played varsity tennis. He then attended Colorado State University for two years, playing for the varsity tennis team before transferring to Metropolitan State College of Denver where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management.

In 1993, Eric reported to Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, earning his commission as a second lieutenant in December 1993. Upon completion of The Basic School at Quantico in 1995, Eric reported to flight school at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, and joined Training Squadron 2 (VT 2) at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, for primary flight instruction. He then completed advanced flight training with VT 31 at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Upon receiving his wings of gold in March 1997, he reported to KC-130 Hercules training with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Training Squadron 253 (VMGRT 253) at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Eric's first fleet aviator assignment was with VMGR 252 at MCAS Cherry Point in September 1998. While there, Eric served as ground safety officer for the Department of Safety and Standardization and as the line division officer in charge for the maintenance department. He made deployments to Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch and to Italy and Greece in support of Operations Noble Anvil and Allied Force. He flew missions in support of operations in Aruba, Puerto Rico, Panama, Japan, Canada, Norway, England, Iceland, Hungary, Kosovo, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Italy. Eric's next assignment came in May 2000 as the air movement control officer and ground-training officer for Marine Air Group 14 (MAG 14) at MCAS Cherry Point.