Colonel Thomas D. (Dewitt) Mayfield III
Colonel Thomas D. (Dewitt) Mayfield III is an active duty armor officer with the United States Army participating in the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs' Army Fellowship Program. He is a member of Texas A&M University's class of 1983 and received his commission into the army upon graduation. Colonel Mayfield's education also includes a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which he received in 1996. He also completed the Space Fundamentals Course at the National Space Studies Institute in Colorado Springs in 2005 and is a 2007 graduate of the National Security Studies Program at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Colonel Mayfield began his career in the army with the Armor Officer Basic Course (AOBC) at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was then assigned to 3-68 Armor at Fort Carson, Colorado. In 1985, he was assigned to 2-68 Armor Baumholder in Germany. During his tenure there, he served as a tank platoon leader, company XO, and battalion adjutant. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1988, Colonel Mayfield attended the Armor Officers' Advanced Course, and was subsequently assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. He served briefly on the III Corps staff, was then assigned to 3-32 Armor of the 1st Cavalry Division as the battalion motor officer, and subsequently was commander of a tank company.
His time in command of B-Company included combat service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1992, as the Brigade S3 plans officer, Colonel Mayfield again deployed to a combat zone in Kuwait as part of Operation Intrinsic Action. Following his assignment at Fort Hood, he was assigned as a doctrine writer at the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Colonel Mayfield then attended the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Following that, he was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he served for two years as the battalion operations officer (S3) and battalion XO of 1-13 Armor. In 1998, Colonel Mayfield was assigned as the U.S. Armor Center's exchange officer to the Royal Australian Armour School in Puckapunyal, Victoria, Australia. He served there until 2000, when he returned to Fort Hood, Texas, and assumed command of the 3rd Battalion (Armor) 395th Regiment.
Following battalion command, Colonel Mayfield was assigned to the III Corps headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas, as the chief of G3 War Plans. During this assignment, he deployed with the III Corps headquarters to Baghdad for Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as the deputy chief of C5 plans for CJTF-7 and later as the senior planner for the Multinational Corps-Iraq. Upon return from Iraq, Colonel Mayfield moved to Colorado Springs and served with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) as the chief of the Global Strike Plans branch. Following that, he was assigned as a command director at NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Command Center from April 2006 until May 2008. From May 2008 until the present, Colonel Mayfield has been assigned as a special assistant to the NORAD J3 (Operations) and later the NORAD and USNORTHCOM J5 (Strategy, Plans, and Policy) to manage several special projects.
Colonel Mayfield's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (5 awards), Army Commendation Medal (3 awards), Army Achievement Medal ( 5 awards), Joint Meritorious Unit Award (2 awards), Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal (2 awards), Southwest Asia Service Medal (3 BS), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon (2), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), and Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).
Colonel Mayfield will be in residence at the Scowcroft Institute during the 2009-2010 academic year, where he will conduct research on military and national security affairs and conduct a dialogue with Texas A&M faculty and students about relevant issues facing today's army.