NAVAIR

Col. Hewson was born in Philadelphia, Pa., less than one mile from the site of the original Tun Tavern. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1987 via the Officers Candidate Class program in Quantico, Va. After attending The Basic School, he completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator.

After completing UH-1N training, he was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 at MCAS Camp Pendleton, where he held various squadron leadership billets in the Aircraft Maintenance, Operations, and Weapons and Tactics departments. During this period he deployed to Okinawa as part of the Unit Deployment Program and to Africa and the Arabian Gulf with the 15th MEU(SOC) in support of Operation Support Hope (Rwanda), Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), and Operation Southern Watch (Kuwait).

After attending Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, Hewson transitioned to the AH-1W and was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, where he deployed twice to the Western Pacific and served in a variety of billets at the squadron and Marine Aircraft Group levels.

In 2000, Hewson was assigned to Naval Air Systems Command, PMA-276. There he served as the Deputy Program Manager for the AH-1W for one year before becoming the Deputy Program Manager for Operations for the H-1 Upgrades (UH-1Y/AH-1Z) program. In this capacity, he worked closely with government and industry teams to build a viable path forward for the program in the face of significant cost, schedule and technical issues.

In 2003, Hewson returned to Camp Pendleton and was assigned as the Executive Officer, HMLA-369. After again deploying to the Western Pacific, he returned to Southern California and was reassigned as the Executive Officer, Marine Wing Support Group 37.

In 2005 he was selected to be the Program Manager, PMA-226, the USMC H-46 Helicopter Program. Operating from MCAS Cherry Point, N.C., he developed a long-range sustainment program for the CH-46E that included critical safety, reliability and survivability upgrades that would ensure the continued viability of that aircraft throughout its extended life cycle.

Hewson holds a Masters Degree in Organizational Management from The George Washington University. He is a Level III certified Defense Acquisition Program Manager and is a member of the Department of Defense Acquisition Professional Community. He is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.