Thomas was born in
Pennsylvania on 6 October 1958, and graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1980. Thomas was a member of the
75th Ranger Regiment. He led a Ranger Rifle platoon from A Company,
2nd Ranger Battalion during the
Invasion of Grenada in 1983, that was dropped from an
MC-130 onto a landing strip in
Grenada. After completion of Infantry Officer Advanced Course in early 1986, he was assigned as Assistant S-3, Plans/Liaison Officer with
75th Ranger Regiment at
Fort Benning, Georgia until 1987. Thomas was then assigned as a company commander with
3rd Ranger Battalion. In 1989, during the
Invasion of Panama, he led his Ranger Rifle Company in another combat jump. In 1992, Thomas volunteered for and completed a specialized selection course for assignment to
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, also known as Delta Force. He served as Operations Officer, Troop Commander, Executive Officer and B Squadron Commander from 1992 to 1994 and 1996 to 1999. In June 1995 Thomas earned a master's degree from the
Naval Command and Staff College in
Newport, Rhode Island, followed by assignment as Executive Officer,
2nd Ranger Battalion from June 1995 to July 1996. From 2000 to 2002, he served as commanding officer of the
1st Ranger Battalion,
75th Ranger Regiment.
Jeh Johnson at
MacDill Air Force Base in
Tampa, Florida, 29 September 2016 Thomas crossed over from the
special operations realm into the
conventional warfare realm when he was selected by Lieutenant General
Mark P. Hertling, then-commander of the
1st Armored Division, to be his deputy commander during the
Iraq War, from 2007 to 2008. During that tour the division worked alongside Arabs and Kurds and despite the difficult relationship between the ethnic groups Thomas was praised by Hertling for "his ability to quickly fuse intelligence" adding, "He helped us fight better." After his tenure in the 1st Armored Division came to an end Thomas returned to
special operations. From 2010 until 2012 Thomas served as the deputy commander of
Joint Special Operations Command. Every year between 2001 and 2013 (minus his time in Iraq with the 1st Armored Division in 2007) Thomas deployed to Afghanistan as part of various special operations units. General Thomas retired from active duty on 29 March 2019. Thomas currently resides in the Tampa Bay area and was honored prior to Game 5 of the
2021 Stanley Cup Finals. ==Dates of rank==