BACK

Bob Blanchard Joins King Aerospace Team

January 17, 2024

(Top photo, left to right: Jarid King, Pete Schneider, Sally O’Connor, Cody Vanderslice, Bob Blanchard, Keith Weaver, Jerry Dunmire, at the new KA-ARK facility.)

Longtime homeland security and national aviation law enforcement professional Bob Blanchard has joined King Aerospace as Vice-President of Business Development – Special Projects, where he will develop and execute initiatives to enhance the company’s capabilities and reputation in serving civilian and military clients worldwide.

Bob’s more than 33 years of service to our country began when he was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. Following a reduction in force that took him off the flight line (“I didn’t want to spend my twenties behind a desk”) he shifted his focus toward becoming a federal agent.

In the U.S. Coast Guard, Bob was assigned to the Helicopter Interdiction Squadron (HITRON) tasked with intercepting suspected drug boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Basin. He joined CBP in 2002, and in 2013 was named Director of National Air Operations for CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO).

Bob later served as Director of National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC) operations in Jacksonville, FL, and Corpus Christi, TX, and in AMO Headquarters as Executive Director, Training, Safety and Standards and Executive Director, Northern Border.

Left to right: Jeff Alcorn, Keith Weaver, Bob Blanchard, at KA-ARK facility.

“I am pleased to help expand King Aerospace’s portfolio of services to rotary wing maintenance and federal law enforcement segments,” he says. “This company’s commitment to ‘God, Country and Family’ aligns perfectly with how I’ve approached my entire career of serving our country, and I look forward to continuing to provide that service in this new role.”

Bob’s last assignment before retirement was serving as Executive Director, National Air Security Operations, overseeing six NASOCs operating 35 aircraft throughout North, Central, and South America.

King Aerospace Founder and Chairman Jerry King comments, “Bob brings decades of experience with aircraft operational and maintenance requirements to our company, and we look forward to introducing our company’s services to new industry segments.”

Bob and his family reside in Norman, OK.