Lt. Col. Charles Drouillard JBC S.C.

Lt. Col. Charles Drouillard relinquished his position as commander of the 81st Aerial Port Squadron here to Col. William Stephens during a change of command ceremony May 19, 2012. Colonel Drouillard’s retirement closed out 25 years of distinguished military service in the U.S. Air Force. Colonel Stephens is the commander of the 315th Mission Support Group at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis)

Lt. Col. Heather McCue JBC S.C.

Lt. Col. Heather McCue assumes command of the 81st Aerial Port Squadron here from Col. William Stephens during a change of command ceremony May 19, 2012. Colonel McCue comes to Joint Base Charleston, S.C. from the 27th Aerial Port Squadron at Minneapolis-St Paul Air Reserve Station, Minn. Colonel Stephens is the commander of the 315th Mission Support Group at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis)

Flag folding

Lt. Col. Charles Drouillard watches as his retirement flag is folded by an Airmen with the Joint Base Charleston, S.C. honor guard May 19, 2012 at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. Colonel Drouillard’s retirement closed out 25 years of distinguished military service in the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis)

statue

Chief Master Sgt. Brad Levander recognizes the accomplishments of Lt. Col. Charles Drouillard with an honorary eagle statue during Colonel Drouillard’s retirement ceremony May 19, 2012 at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. Chief Levander is the senior Air Reserve Technician with 81st Aerial Port Squadron, and Colonel Drouillard’s retirement closed out 25 years of distinguished military service in the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis)

Lt. Col. Charles Drouillard relinquishes command, retires.

Published May 20, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Shane Ellis
315th Airlift Wing

Joint Base Charleston, S.C. -- Lt. Col. Charles A. Drouillard relinquished command of the 81st Aerial Port Squadron here during a change of command ceremony May 19.

During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Heather M. McCue assumed command of the 81st APS, and Colonel Drouillard was honored during his retirement ceremony which brought to close a distinguished military career of 25 years.

During Colonel Drouillard's command, he was responsible for the leadership, operations, readiness training, and mentoring of more than 170 U.S. Air Force Reserve Airmen who performed local and global taskings which primarily supported the Air Mobility Command mobility and strategic airlift missions.

Colonel Drouillard joined the Air Force in 1987, and he was commissioned through the USAF Reserve Officer Training Corps as a distinguished graduate at the University of Alabama. After he became commissioned, Colonel Drouillard served as a civilian aerospace engineer for the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.

After completing school to become a navigator, Colonel Drouillard would go on to serve in the 20th and 16th Airlift Squadrons at Charleston AFB S.C. He also worked with the 437th Airlift Wing in the wing tactics special operations divisions.

Colonel Drouillard separated from active duty in September 1996, and he joined the USAFR without a break in his military service.

Colonel Drouillard retired as a master navigator with more than 2,100 hours of flying time. His service history includes combat support missions in Southwest Asia during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm; furthermore, he airdropped U.S. Army Rangers into a hot drop zone in Panama during the initial invasion for Operation Just Cause. Also, he served as an operations officer and commanded two aerial port squadrons while serving in the USAFR.

According to Col. William D. Stephens, 315th Airlift Wing Support Group commander, "Colonel Drouillard accomplished a number of great things for this wing and this base, and we certainly going to miss him."