Vincent J. Stella, Director of Flight Operations and a Board Member of Celebrate Freedom Foundation

As an Aircraft Survivability Systems Analyst DoD Contractor directly supporting US Army Aviation Survivability, he is responsible through his tactical and technical experience in advising elements of the Survivability Branch on current and future threats to Army Aviation as well exam and model potential survivability concepts. His work has already had a positive impact on some of Army Aviation’s emerging systems and technologies in the news today.

Prior to this job, he was an Aviation Mission Planning System (AMPS) Subject Matter Expert (SME) for over ten years for the United States Army and was responsible for supporting all US Army Aviation units (Active/Guard/Reserve) in the Southeast US, the Caribbean, and Central America. In addition, he was the primary SME on AH-64A/D/E operations and one of two primary SME’s for the CH-47F operations. This expertise also resulted in his deployment to support training to US Allied armed forces and the host countries of Saudi Arabia, Australia, and the Republic of South Korea. Furthermore, as a DoD contractor he supported the USAF at Eglin AFB as the primary Mission Planning System SME for both the A-10 and HH-60 airframes.

Vincent Stella spent twenty-nine years of his aviation life in the military serving in the US Marines, Marine Reserves, and the US Army. For the first ten years of his military career, he was an Air Traffic Controller (Radar) in the Marines and Marine Reserves before switching to the Army to pursue his dream to serve as a military pilot. He was initially assigned to fly AH-1F Cobras, then switched to AH-64A Apache’s then AH-64Ds Apache Longbows. His combat and other significant deployments/postings include: Operation Desert Storm, Germany IFOR/SFOR in Bosnia, Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait, South Korea, Operation Iraqi Freedom I &III. He was one of two officers who planned the opening direct fire shots of OIF I.

Vincent Stella holds a BA in History from Temple University and was chosen as the first CFF Director of Flight Operations in 2007. He currently works in Virginia..