Major Andrew A. Berrigan III enlisted in the Air Force on April 17, 2001. While training in Chinese at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif., he received the Air Force Association Stanley J. Hryn Leadership Award in 2002. He then went to Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, for cryptologic operator training. He completed training as Distinguished Graduate in 2003, then moved to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., to begin training aboard the RC-135 Rivet Joint. His training was cut short short when he was notified the following year that he’d been selected to attend Officer Training School (OTS).
He went to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in the spring of 2004 to attend OTS. Upon completing OTS as a Distinguished Graduate that summer, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He then moved to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and entered Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training (UABMT) in the winter of 2005. Upon graduating UABMT as Top Scope award winner in the fall of 2005, he went on to Robins Air Force Base, Ga., to qualify as Air Weapons Officer aboard the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS). He deployed to Air Force Central Command (USAFCENT) several times as both an Air Weapons Officer and as the E-8 JSTARS liaison to the Combined Air Operations Center.
In 2009, Major Berrigan moved to Wiesbaden Army Air Field, Germany, and became an Air Liaison Officer for the 1st Air Support Operations Squadron. He deployed to Iraq from 2009 to 2010 in support of 1st Armored Division, 1st Cavalry Division, and 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. While deployed he was recognized as the Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group Company Grade Officer of the Month, and upon returning home he was recognized as his squadron’s Company Grade Officer of the Year.
Returning to Robins Air Force Base in 2011, he began to develop an expertise in tactical data links. He completed a tour at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., in 2013 as Tactical Data Link Manager for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, and he returned to Robins Air Force Base later that year to manage tactical data links for the E-8 JSTARS. In 2014, he became qualified as a Joint Interface Control Officer (JICO).
Major Berrigan moved to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., in 2015 to qualify as Mission Crew Commander aboard the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). He led an aircrew deployed to USAFCENT from 2016-2017, and his crew was recognized as the USAFCENT Airborne Air Battle Management Crew of the Year.
In the summer of 2018, Major Berrigan was selected to deploy to the USAFCENT Joint Interface Control Cell. After finishing Air Operations Center Initial Qualification Training as a Distinguished Graduate, he deployed to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., from 2018 to 2019 as USAFCENT JICO and was recognized as Field Grade Officer of the Quarter.
Major Berrigan returned to Tinker Air Force Base in the spring of 2019 and currently serves in the 552nd Operations Support Squadron as Chief, AWACS Interoperability; Deputy Chief, Group Weapons and Tactics; and Mission Crew Commander, E-3 AWACS. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Air Force Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Army Commendation Medal.
Major Berrigan plans to retire from the Air Force on May 1, 2021, after 20 years of service. Major Berrigan, his wife Catherine, and their six children (plus an additional one on the way) hope to remain in the Oklahoma City area as he transitions to civilian life.