Tom Baker

CMSgt Tom Baker enlisted in the Air Force in May 1985 and served the majority of his 28 years in service in AFSOC units as an MC-130E/H Loadmaster. In 1997, he was a member of the 7th Special Operations Squadron aircrew awarded the prestigious MacKay Trophy for the Air Force’s most meritorious flight of the year after rescuing 57 personnel from the civil war-torn Republic of the Congo. Tom was recognized again in 2002 when he was selected as the SSgt Henry “Red” Erwin Award winner as the Air Force’s outstanding aircrew member of the year. He was inducted into the ACA Hall of Fame in 2018.
Chief Baker currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is employed by CAE as a contractor instructor (CI) training AC, MC and HC-130J aircrews. In addition to the leadership roles he had held on active-duty, Tom has served as a shop steward representing 90 CIs, is an operational team member for the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council as well as the chairman for the team’s store and a volunteer ski instructor for the New Mexico Adaptive Sports program.