Colonel Nick Suppa

Deputy Commander 80th Flying Training Wing

Colonel Nicholas A. Suppa is the Deputy Commander at the 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. The wing consists of more than 1,300 military, civilian and contract personnel, and has over 200 military aircraft. Col Suppa assists the wing commander in the execution of 55,000 sorties and 66,000 hours annually for the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program. ENJJPT is the world's only internationally manned and managed undergraduate pilot training program, in which 14 NATO nations participate: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition to undergraduate pilot training, the wing also hosts Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals and pilot instructor training. Col Suppa entered the Air Force in June 2004 as a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Mechanics. He completed pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, in 2005. Following initial operational assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle, he served as an evaluator pilot and F-15E program manager at the United States Air Force Weapons System Evaluation Program. In 2015, he was selected for transition to the F-35A Lightning II and subsequently served in multiple operational and leadership roles, including Director of Operations and Commander of the 56th Operations Support Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. He later served as Chief of F-35 Integration and Interoperability at Headquarters Allied Air Command. Col Suppa also served as the Military Assistant to the Commander, NATO HQ Allied Air Command, where he was the principal strategic advisor to a four-star commander overseeing a 32-nation multinational force. Col Suppa is a command pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in the F-15E and F-35A, including over 400 combat hours. Prior to his current assignment, Col Suppa was a student at the National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington D.C.