Lt. Col. Wesley "Wes" Emery is the commander of U.S. Army Priority Airlift Transport, which is stationed at Joint Base Andrews and is a battalion in The Army Aviation Brigade. He was commissioned in 2008 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. He went on to complete Army flight school as an honor graduate, rated in the UH‑60 Black Hawk. His professional military education includes the Aviation Captain’s Career Course and the resident U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Lt. Col. Emery also holds a Master of Science degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.
Lt. Col. Emery has a diverse background in Army Aviation, with experience in both rotary‑wing (RW) and fixed‑wing (FW) organizations. As a RW aviator, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (2011–2012) to Kandahar, Afghanistan, and later served in South Korea. As a FW aviator, he has served in both the transport and Aerial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (A‑ISR) communities. Lt. Col. Emery has conducted operations across Europe and Northern Africa in support of NATO operations, and both South and Central America in support of INSCOM.
Lt. Col. Emery’s past assignments include: DoD Interagency Fellow, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Special Flight Operations Unit (SFOU); Brigade XO, The Army Aviation Brigade (TAAB), Fort Belvoir, Va.; Battalion Operations Officer, U.S. Army Priority Air Transport (USAPAT), Joint Base Andrews, Md.; Battalion XO, 204th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas; Assignment Officer, Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, Ky.; Company Commander, 2‑2 Assault Helicopter Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), Seoul Air Base, Korea; Company XO, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, 2nd CAB, Camp Humphreys, Korea; Assistant Operations Officer and Maintenance Company XO, 7‑101 General Support Aviation Battalion, 159th CAB, Fort Campbell, Ky.; Assistant Operations Officer, 7‑17 Cavalry Squadron, 159th CAB, Fort Campbell, Ky., and Kandahar, Afghanistan; Flight Platoon Leader, 7‑101 GSAB, 159th CAB, Fort Campbell, Ky., and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Emery most recently served as the HRC Aviation Branch Executive Officer (XO) and Career Manager for multiple Officer populations. His awards and decorations are commensurate with his years and level of service.