Captain Brian Hinman
U.S. Air Force
1702nd Air Refueling Wing
Operation Desert Storm
1986-1992
U.S. Air Force
1702nd Air Refueling Wing
Operation Desert Storm
1986-1992
Brian Hinman was born in Huntsville, AL in 1964, the youngest of seven children. Brian was exposed to the military and aviation early on. His father worked at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL and then later the family moved to Florida where his dad worked on Apollo 11 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. When Brian was six the family moved to Erie PA. Brian spent his formative years attending Catholic School and serving as an Altar Boy, “it was a great foundation for me.”
Brian was earning exceptional grades in school and his parents told him they would make a big family sacrifice and extend Brian’s Catholic school education through high school to help him be in the best position possible to get into college. Brian wholeheartedly accepted offer and went on to attend Cathedral Prep High School. Brian’s father died shortly before he entered high school and Brian made up his mind to do the very best he could in life to make his father proud. Brian’s efforts paid off when he received a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh and was accepted into the Air Force ROTC program.
In 1986 Brian graduated from Pitt and 3 months after graduation he married Lori, his high School sweetheart. In September they headed for Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California where Brian would spend the next 12 months at flight training. “Probably the most difficult thing I have done. The wash out rate was 30%.” There were stringent requirements for passing flight training. They focused on your ability in the cockpit, your physical conditioning, and your academic success. Brian found it very difficult trying to balance the rigorous and demanding flight training program with being a newlywed.
Brian was among the 30% who successfully graduated from flight training and for the next six months Brian attended specialized aircraft training for the KC-135R Stratotanker. Early on during flight training Brian knew he didn’t want to fly a fighter. At the time, he thought he would fly for the commercial airlines after his military career ended and that would require time flying a heavier aircraft. The KC-135 aircraft caught his attention, and he found its mission to be very exciting.
The KC-135R model provides in-flight refueling to a variety of aircraft in both combat and noncombat environments. The aircraft is 136 feet long with a 130-foot wingspan and is powered by 4 turbofan engines. The tanker is equipped with a refueling boom that is extended from the plane to the aircraft in need of refueling. There are four air crew members: the pilot, the navigator, boom operator and co-pilot. It is capable of flying as high as 50,000 feet and can reach speeds of 500 mph. The KC-135 can haul either 83,000 pounds of cargo, airlift up to 80 passengers, or carry 202,800 pounds of JP-4 jet fuel, most of which is transferable for global refueling missions.
After completing training in late 1987 Brian received orders to Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY for his first assignment. There he became an instructor, an evaluator, and a flight commander in charge of four different flight crews. He and his crew would have six-to-eight-week deployments doing training missions in the U.S. and the U.K. During this time, he was promoted to Captain.
Very shortly after the birth of Brian’s first son Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August of 1990. President George H. W. Bush organized a coalition of 35 nations to defend Saudi Arabia and ultimately liberate Kuwait. This Military operation was called Operation Desert Shield and Brian headed to the Al Dhafra Air Force Base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of this operation. Brian and his crew lived in old German Quonset huts constructed during World War II. They were based there from August of ’90 to January of ’91 and flew mission in the Persian Gulf.
In January 1991 the US led coalition declared war on Iraq which began with a massive aerial campaign attacking Iraqi fortifications. This operation was known as Operation Desert Storm with the goal of pushing Iraq out of Kuwait. Brian and his crew moved their base of operations to Muskat, the capital of Oman. Brian was part of the 1702nd Air Refueling Wing refueling a wide range of aircraft including B-52’s, F-15’s, the Stealth Fighter, F-16’s, C-130’s, aircraft from the U.S. Navy, and aircraft of all types from a variety of countries. Brian spent the next six months in an austere tent city. From there they moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to be closer to combat.
Between Saudi Arabia and Iraq there was a small section of air space that the US and Iraq agreed would be a neutral zone. This small piece of airspace allowed the refueling aircraft to operate without fear of being shot down. The KC-135’s would fly an oval pattern within this air space at about 12,000 feet and maintain radio silence until an aircraft needed refueling. They would provide refueling to any coalition aircraft including bombers, fighter jets, C-130’s etc. The refueling aircraft would have fighter escorts off each wing in case of any surface to air missiles were launched by the Iraqi’s who, despite the agreement not to attack aircraft in the neutral zone, would frequently launch missiles at coalition aircraft.
Brain recalled one night mission where he and his crew received orders from the AWAC circling above the battle space and controlling the air space to fly 50 miles north to refuel a fighter desperately low on fuel. Brian and his crew received an intelligence briefing prior to takeoff that evening that the area where they would be refueling the fighter was directly over multiple SAM sites. Brian recalled the night sky being lit up like a fireworks display during the refueling. Just after completing the refueling, they saw a SAM approximately 7 miles off their nose. They were flying at a speed of 7 miles/minute so this encounter was too close for comfort. Their fighter escorts had left them unprotected while they headed to bomb SAM sites and the KC-135 did not have any chaff. Chaff are small thin pieces of metal shot out of an aircraft to confuse the radar on the SAM’s. “That was a pretty scary mission for me.”
On the way back Brian and his crew saw a U.S. helicopter with 20 troops on board get shot down and they could hear the pilot screaming ‘mayday’ all the way down. Seeing this tragic event coupled with flying eight-hour missions every night for seven straight months, multiple encounters with the SAMs and two friends being killed in action led to Brian developing PTSD. One friend was a B-52 navigator who was in an aircraft that was shot down. The navigator is located in the belly of the plane and when he ejects, he is “shot” from the bottom of the plane. When he was able to eject from the aircraft, he was under 5,000 feet and he hit the water at a high velocity and did not survive. Brian also formed a good friendship with a coalition fighter pilot from France who lived in the same tent as Brian. One day Francois did not return from his mission. All of this resulted in an inability to sleep, nightmares and PTSD. “The Air Force offered a lot of good therapy” to address his PTSD and he continues to receive treatment as of this writing.
Brian returned to the states after the war ended in 1991. In 1992 Brian and Lori had a daughter and Brian realized that he couldn’t continue the long stretches of time being away from his young family, and after almost seven years Brian left the Air Force with a lot of misgivings. “I really loved doing what I was doing. I loved the people I was working with. The Air Force was a great family for us. A great support mechanism. My wife was heavy into the officer’s wives club. There were a lot of benefits in being with this family. You were sheltered from a lot of things which is good and bad. You don’t have to deal with a lot of things that the private sector deals with. But bad because you are not prepared for it if you leave.”
Between the end of Operation Desert Storm and the end of Brian’s enlistment, the Cold War was still in full swing. As part of their Cold War training the air crews would leave their families and ‘sit alert’ in a special facility at Griffiss AFB for one week each month. The B-52 and KC-135’s crews were given flight plans that included predetermined targets in Russia to be bombed. At some point during the week there would be a simulated launch. An alarm would be sounded, and the crews were required to be in their planes with the engines running and ready to depart within several minutes. The B-52’s, loaded with nuclear weapons and the KC-135’s loaded with fuel would receive codes they had to decipher to determine if it was an exercise or a real mission.
While this was important training the week had a lot of downtime. Brian used this time to get his MBA degree with a concentration in strategic management. The Air Force arranged for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) teach an MBA program on the base. Brian completed his degree just before he left active duty. “It was the best thing I have ever done.”
Brian reviewed his options and took a job at one of Westinghouse’s nuclear power sites as a project development engineer. During his tenure at Westinghouse, he transitioned into the area of intellectual property. Brian approached the management of Westinghouse’s R&D group and proposed that he analyze the intellectual property (IP) and investigate how to monetize the IP. He created this new business unit and became Westinghouse’s first Director of Intellectual Property and Licensing. After four and a half years IBM recruited Brian to serve as Manager of Business Development at the IBM R&D Headquarters at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. In 1996 Brian joined IBM and he and his family moved to Lagrange, NY. During his 12-year career at IBM he was promoted multiple times and ultimately served as Senior Vice President and Head of Intellectual Property and Licensing.
In 2008 Brian left IBM to become founding CEO of Allied Security Trust (AST), an organization that provides a unique solution for operating companies to protect against third party patent assertion entities. From there he went on to hold several positions heading up worldwide IP operations at both Verizon and Interdigital. He then served as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Unified Patents Inc., an entity that addresses and eliminates poor quality patents so that they can’t be used against operating companies. In 2013 Brian moved to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to be Senior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer for Philips, and CEO of Philips Intellectual Property and Standards business unit. After four years Brain decided to return to the states to be closer to his grandchildren. He returned to Dutchess County in New York and joined Aon Intellectual Property Solutions as Chief Innovation Officer/Chief Commercial Officer. “I’m kinda winding down my career. As long as I love what I’m doing, which I do, I’ll continue doing it.” Brian was recently elected to the elite Intellectual Property Hall of Fame in recognition of his 30 career.
Brian is an avid runner and has participated in 20+ marathons including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Amsterdam. He continues to keep a rigorous running regiment of 12 miles each day and 20 miles on the weekend. Brian remains in touch with some of the men he served with. He has three granddaughters he enjoys spending time with and also devotes some of his time volunteering for veteran services.
Brian spoke glowingly of his military experience. “It was spectacular. I’m a very big advocate of military service. While at IBM, I had a team over in Haifa Israel and they have mandatory military service and I see what it does for them, and I see what I could do here. There’s a lot of kids coming out of high school that don’t know what they want to do. Having them get leadership experience, teamwork and disciple would be invaluable. Those three things were the most important things I learned and appreciated from the Military. It’s priceless from that perspective.”
Thank you, Brian, for the sacrifices you and your family endured so the rest of us did not have to. We also thank you for all that you had to endure during your deployment in Operation Desert Storm and hope you can keep your PTSD demons under control.
Brian was earning exceptional grades in school and his parents told him they would make a big family sacrifice and extend Brian’s Catholic school education through high school to help him be in the best position possible to get into college. Brian wholeheartedly accepted offer and went on to attend Cathedral Prep High School. Brian’s father died shortly before he entered high school and Brian made up his mind to do the very best he could in life to make his father proud. Brian’s efforts paid off when he received a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh and was accepted into the Air Force ROTC program.
In 1986 Brian graduated from Pitt and 3 months after graduation he married Lori, his high School sweetheart. In September they headed for Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, California where Brian would spend the next 12 months at flight training. “Probably the most difficult thing I have done. The wash out rate was 30%.” There were stringent requirements for passing flight training. They focused on your ability in the cockpit, your physical conditioning, and your academic success. Brian found it very difficult trying to balance the rigorous and demanding flight training program with being a newlywed.
Brian was among the 30% who successfully graduated from flight training and for the next six months Brian attended specialized aircraft training for the KC-135R Stratotanker. Early on during flight training Brian knew he didn’t want to fly a fighter. At the time, he thought he would fly for the commercial airlines after his military career ended and that would require time flying a heavier aircraft. The KC-135 aircraft caught his attention, and he found its mission to be very exciting.
The KC-135R model provides in-flight refueling to a variety of aircraft in both combat and noncombat environments. The aircraft is 136 feet long with a 130-foot wingspan and is powered by 4 turbofan engines. The tanker is equipped with a refueling boom that is extended from the plane to the aircraft in need of refueling. There are four air crew members: the pilot, the navigator, boom operator and co-pilot. It is capable of flying as high as 50,000 feet and can reach speeds of 500 mph. The KC-135 can haul either 83,000 pounds of cargo, airlift up to 80 passengers, or carry 202,800 pounds of JP-4 jet fuel, most of which is transferable for global refueling missions.
After completing training in late 1987 Brian received orders to Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY for his first assignment. There he became an instructor, an evaluator, and a flight commander in charge of four different flight crews. He and his crew would have six-to-eight-week deployments doing training missions in the U.S. and the U.K. During this time, he was promoted to Captain.
Very shortly after the birth of Brian’s first son Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August of 1990. President George H. W. Bush organized a coalition of 35 nations to defend Saudi Arabia and ultimately liberate Kuwait. This Military operation was called Operation Desert Shield and Brian headed to the Al Dhafra Air Force Base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of this operation. Brian and his crew lived in old German Quonset huts constructed during World War II. They were based there from August of ’90 to January of ’91 and flew mission in the Persian Gulf.
In January 1991 the US led coalition declared war on Iraq which began with a massive aerial campaign attacking Iraqi fortifications. This operation was known as Operation Desert Storm with the goal of pushing Iraq out of Kuwait. Brian and his crew moved their base of operations to Muskat, the capital of Oman. Brian was part of the 1702nd Air Refueling Wing refueling a wide range of aircraft including B-52’s, F-15’s, the Stealth Fighter, F-16’s, C-130’s, aircraft from the U.S. Navy, and aircraft of all types from a variety of countries. Brian spent the next six months in an austere tent city. From there they moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to be closer to combat.
Between Saudi Arabia and Iraq there was a small section of air space that the US and Iraq agreed would be a neutral zone. This small piece of airspace allowed the refueling aircraft to operate without fear of being shot down. The KC-135’s would fly an oval pattern within this air space at about 12,000 feet and maintain radio silence until an aircraft needed refueling. They would provide refueling to any coalition aircraft including bombers, fighter jets, C-130’s etc. The refueling aircraft would have fighter escorts off each wing in case of any surface to air missiles were launched by the Iraqi’s who, despite the agreement not to attack aircraft in the neutral zone, would frequently launch missiles at coalition aircraft.
Brain recalled one night mission where he and his crew received orders from the AWAC circling above the battle space and controlling the air space to fly 50 miles north to refuel a fighter desperately low on fuel. Brian and his crew received an intelligence briefing prior to takeoff that evening that the area where they would be refueling the fighter was directly over multiple SAM sites. Brian recalled the night sky being lit up like a fireworks display during the refueling. Just after completing the refueling, they saw a SAM approximately 7 miles off their nose. They were flying at a speed of 7 miles/minute so this encounter was too close for comfort. Their fighter escorts had left them unprotected while they headed to bomb SAM sites and the KC-135 did not have any chaff. Chaff are small thin pieces of metal shot out of an aircraft to confuse the radar on the SAM’s. “That was a pretty scary mission for me.”
On the way back Brian and his crew saw a U.S. helicopter with 20 troops on board get shot down and they could hear the pilot screaming ‘mayday’ all the way down. Seeing this tragic event coupled with flying eight-hour missions every night for seven straight months, multiple encounters with the SAMs and two friends being killed in action led to Brian developing PTSD. One friend was a B-52 navigator who was in an aircraft that was shot down. The navigator is located in the belly of the plane and when he ejects, he is “shot” from the bottom of the plane. When he was able to eject from the aircraft, he was under 5,000 feet and he hit the water at a high velocity and did not survive. Brian also formed a good friendship with a coalition fighter pilot from France who lived in the same tent as Brian. One day Francois did not return from his mission. All of this resulted in an inability to sleep, nightmares and PTSD. “The Air Force offered a lot of good therapy” to address his PTSD and he continues to receive treatment as of this writing.
Brian returned to the states after the war ended in 1991. In 1992 Brian and Lori had a daughter and Brian realized that he couldn’t continue the long stretches of time being away from his young family, and after almost seven years Brian left the Air Force with a lot of misgivings. “I really loved doing what I was doing. I loved the people I was working with. The Air Force was a great family for us. A great support mechanism. My wife was heavy into the officer’s wives club. There were a lot of benefits in being with this family. You were sheltered from a lot of things which is good and bad. You don’t have to deal with a lot of things that the private sector deals with. But bad because you are not prepared for it if you leave.”
Between the end of Operation Desert Storm and the end of Brian’s enlistment, the Cold War was still in full swing. As part of their Cold War training the air crews would leave their families and ‘sit alert’ in a special facility at Griffiss AFB for one week each month. The B-52 and KC-135’s crews were given flight plans that included predetermined targets in Russia to be bombed. At some point during the week there would be a simulated launch. An alarm would be sounded, and the crews were required to be in their planes with the engines running and ready to depart within several minutes. The B-52’s, loaded with nuclear weapons and the KC-135’s loaded with fuel would receive codes they had to decipher to determine if it was an exercise or a real mission.
While this was important training the week had a lot of downtime. Brian used this time to get his MBA degree with a concentration in strategic management. The Air Force arranged for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) teach an MBA program on the base. Brian completed his degree just before he left active duty. “It was the best thing I have ever done.”
Brian reviewed his options and took a job at one of Westinghouse’s nuclear power sites as a project development engineer. During his tenure at Westinghouse, he transitioned into the area of intellectual property. Brian approached the management of Westinghouse’s R&D group and proposed that he analyze the intellectual property (IP) and investigate how to monetize the IP. He created this new business unit and became Westinghouse’s first Director of Intellectual Property and Licensing. After four and a half years IBM recruited Brian to serve as Manager of Business Development at the IBM R&D Headquarters at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. In 1996 Brian joined IBM and he and his family moved to Lagrange, NY. During his 12-year career at IBM he was promoted multiple times and ultimately served as Senior Vice President and Head of Intellectual Property and Licensing.
In 2008 Brian left IBM to become founding CEO of Allied Security Trust (AST), an organization that provides a unique solution for operating companies to protect against third party patent assertion entities. From there he went on to hold several positions heading up worldwide IP operations at both Verizon and Interdigital. He then served as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Unified Patents Inc., an entity that addresses and eliminates poor quality patents so that they can’t be used against operating companies. In 2013 Brian moved to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to be Senior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer for Philips, and CEO of Philips Intellectual Property and Standards business unit. After four years Brain decided to return to the states to be closer to his grandchildren. He returned to Dutchess County in New York and joined Aon Intellectual Property Solutions as Chief Innovation Officer/Chief Commercial Officer. “I’m kinda winding down my career. As long as I love what I’m doing, which I do, I’ll continue doing it.” Brian was recently elected to the elite Intellectual Property Hall of Fame in recognition of his 30 career.
Brian is an avid runner and has participated in 20+ marathons including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Amsterdam. He continues to keep a rigorous running regiment of 12 miles each day and 20 miles on the weekend. Brian remains in touch with some of the men he served with. He has three granddaughters he enjoys spending time with and also devotes some of his time volunteering for veteran services.
Brian spoke glowingly of his military experience. “It was spectacular. I’m a very big advocate of military service. While at IBM, I had a team over in Haifa Israel and they have mandatory military service and I see what it does for them, and I see what I could do here. There’s a lot of kids coming out of high school that don’t know what they want to do. Having them get leadership experience, teamwork and disciple would be invaluable. Those three things were the most important things I learned and appreciated from the Military. It’s priceless from that perspective.”
Thank you, Brian, for the sacrifices you and your family endured so the rest of us did not have to. We also thank you for all that you had to endure during your deployment in Operation Desert Storm and hope you can keep your PTSD demons under control.