Command transition among top challenges for new chief of staff

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Taking on the job of chief of staff just prior to a three-star command change might seem like a tall order, but if so, the Electronic Systems Center has found the right man for the job.

Col. John Drohan, who happens to stand six-foot-eight, is ready for that challenge and many more.

"I'm always open to doing something new, and I definitely enjoy working for General Bowlds, so it was easy to say yes to coming up and working in the front office," he said.

Colonel Drohan is replacing Col. Mary McRae, who is retiring.  It was Colonel McRae who reached out to Colonel Drohan as a possible successor.

"She was looking for someone who was similar to her personality and background, and she and I go back quite a way," he said, noting that Colonel McRae knew he'd been in his previous job for about 18 months and might be looking for another challenge.

That previous position, held until Dec. 3, was chief of the Applications Branch within the Ops Command and Control Division of what is now the C2ISR Directorate. Prior to last summer's reorganization, it had been the 350th Electronic Systems Wing.

"Having come from the trenches, I lived through the reorganization and the transition policies as they came out," Colonel Drohan said. "I haven't been shy about saying which ones are working well and which ones we need to tweak. I think that's part of what I bring to the table."

A career Air Force officer who describes himself as "a hard core acquisition guy," Colonel Drohan has taken on numerous program management assignments, as well as some staff and policy positions. Prior to his 2009 arrival at Hanscom, he spent four years at the Pentagon within the Office of the Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition dealing with high visibility mobility aircraft issues.

This is Colonel Drohan's first assignment at Hanscom. He held various posts at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, early in his career and has also worked acquisition at the Air Armament Center at Eglin AFB, Fla.

"Coming to Hanscom has allowed me to sort of complete the major acquisition loop," he said.

While there are many challenges to both aeronautical and armament acquisition, he acknowledges the distinctiveness of the ESC mission.

"ESC programs have all the technical complexities that make it fun to come to work every day," he said.

Colonel Drohan has spent his whole life in the Air Force, having been raised as the son of an electronic warfare officer who spent part of his career with the 8th Special Operations Squadron, known as the Blackbirds. There the elder Drohan flew with a young officer officer named Norton Schwartz, who of course is now Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff.

Between his father's assignments and now his own, Colonel Drohan has moved 14 times. "I think that puts me two ahead of my sister," he said with a grin.

The colonel's own immediate family has adapted well to the military lifestyle too. He and his wife, Kristin, have two children, an eleven-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter. Kristin successfully transitioned a thriving interior design business she started while in D.C. up to Concord, Mass., and the children enjoy a variety of activities, including soccer and music.

The colonel grew up playing the drums through high school and even played in various bands when he was a young lieutenant. Now the Drohan basement is filled with all sorts of musical instruments, and family entertainment often takes the form of ad hoc jam sessions.

"We don't play Rock Band," Colonel Drohan said. "We have a real rock band."

Colonel Drohan also still enjoys playing "tall sports," such as basketball and volleyball. The colonel, in fact, fully embraces his height.

"Being this tall, people always see me; I tend to stand out, so I'm not a shrinking violet," he said. And that has made a difference in how he's approached his profession.

"It has certainly added uniqueness to my service," he said.