Captain john k. winkler
Captain John K. Winkler received his commission in May 1985 from the U.S. Naval Academy and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1986. After finishing advanced flight training in the E-2c Hawkeye with Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAQ) 110, NAS Miramar, CA, he reported to the "Seabats" of VAW-111. After decommissioning VAW-111 in 1988, he transferred to the Golden Hawks of VAW-112, deploying to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and South America aboard USS Nimitz and USS Constellation, in addition to the counter-drug operations from Howard AFB, Panama. While assigned to VAW-112, he was designated as a NATOPS Evaluator in the new E-2C Group 1 aircraft. In 1990, Captain Winkler reported to Training Squadron (VT) 3 as a t-34C Flight Instructor and served as Aviation Safety and Schedules Officer, and as a T-34C Standardization and maintenance Check Pilot.
Captain Winkler joined the Navy Reserve in February of 1994 and was assigned to the Defense Plant Representative Office (DPRO) at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation where he served as the Aviation Safety Officer, Government Flight Representation and T-45A/AV=8B Engineering Quality Team Member. In 1996 he transferred to VAW-77 assigned to Carrier Air Wing Reserve (CVWR) 20 onboard NAS Atlanta, "Night Wolves" in June 2002. During his tenure as Commanding Officer, the "Night Wolves" were awarded the Noel Davis Battle "E" for operational excellence and two CNO Safety Awards. Under his Leadership, VAW-77 made numerous counter-drug deployment to the U.S. Southern Command theater, relocated the squadron permanent deployment site from Puerto Rico to El Salvador and was credited by the Joint Inter-agency Task Force South (JIATF-S) with a record quantity of illegal drug seizures for 2004. While assigned to VAW-77, Captain Winkler was the 1998 AEWWINGLANT Reserve "Hawkeye of the Year."
In 2003, Captain Winkler was transferred to the U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, IL for duty with the J-3 Operations Directorate and qualified as the Air Cell Chief and Joint Mobility Watch Officer. In 2004, Captain Winkler was selected for further commands the Reserve Component Commander at Training Air Wing FOUR (CTW-4) onboard NAS Corpus Christi TX. In this capacity he served as the wing senior reserve officer, and commander of the second largest Reserve Component within the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) as well as a T-34C Standardization Flight Instructor. In addition, he was assigned as the wing Chief Staff Officer from August 2007 to December 2007.
In December of 2007, Captain Winkler assumed command of Navy Reserve Carrier Strike Group FIVE (NR CSG-5) at NAS Fort Worth, Joint Reserve Base, TX, which supports CSG-5/CTF-70, the USS George Washington Strike Group, forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. In this capacity, NR CSG-5 supports numerous Pacific Fleet exercises including KEY RESOLVE, Terminal FURY, TALISMAN SABER and ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN.
Captain Winkler is 1985 graduate of the U.S. Naval academy with a B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff, Newport RI, the Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL and the national Defense University, Reserve Component National Security Course. He has flown over 5700 military flight hours including over 3000 in the E-2c Hawkeye and 2000 in the T-34C Turbo Mentor.
In his civilian career, Captain Winkler is B-737 Captain for Southwest Airlines based at Chicago Midway Airoprt. He resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife Kathleen and son, John Paul and William.