United States Air Force 1952-1978
Command Pilot: C-119, C-130, T-29, C-141
BS US Naval Academy, 1952
MA 1959 and Ph.D. 1968: Syracuse University
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit (3), Air Medal (7)
Thomas Anthony Julian was born in Hollywood, CA on March 10, 1930 to immigrant parents, Alexander Julian, an Armenian born in Istanbul, and Margaret Martin, born in Carrickmacross, Ireland. He helped his family weather the Great Depression as "Tommy Martin", a movie extra and bit player in such films as Lloyds of London, National Velvet, and How Green Was My Valley. After successful high school years at Hollywood High, where he ran track and was elected student body president, Thomas followed in the footsteps of his brother, Alex, and attended the US Naval Academy, where he graduated 2nd in his class and accepted a commission in the US Air Force in 1952 upon graduation.
After flight school, Colonel Julian was assigned to the 815 Troop Carrier Squadron in Japan flying C-119s from 1953 to 1955, during which he served with the USAF detachment at Cat Bi Airfield, Haiphong, French Indo- China, 1954, supporting the French Union forces at Dien Bien Phu.
He received his MA and Ph.D. from Syracuse University as preparation to teach History at the USAF Academy in Colorado from 1959-1963. He then attended the USAF Air Command & Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, where he was designated a "Distinguished Graduate."
From 1965-1966, he was assigned to the 311 Air Commando Squadron, Danang Airbase, Republic of Vietnam, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and seven Air Medals flying C-123s. He returned to the USAF academy in 1967 and served as an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the History Department until 1970, when he left to attend the National War College.
From 1971-1973, Colonel Julian was successively the Assistant Deputy Commander, Deputy Commander, Operations, and concurrently in 1973, Vice Commander of the 60th Military Airlift Wing, (MAC), Travis AFB, California, equipped with C-5 and C-141 squadrons.
Following a year as a Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, he was assigned to the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE), in Belgium, from 1974 to 1976 as Chief of the Nuclear Policy Section and the Supreme Commander's representative, in the NATO Nuclear Planning Group Staff Group. From 1976-1977, he served as the Senior Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, SHAPE. Reassigned to Headquarters, USAF, in the Pentagon in 1977, he served as a division chief in the Plans and Policy Directorate, and in 1978 he became the Special Assistant for NATO & Nuclear Matters to the Deputy Director, Plans & Policy, and retired later that year as a Colonel (0-6) & Command Pilot.
After retiring, Dr. Julian worked for BDM and SAIC Corporations as a systems analyst. He later served as adjunct faculty at the National Defense University (NDU) and directed Command and Control research at NDU from 1989 to 1993. He has written numerous articles and book reviews, which have been published in various professional history and current affairs journals, and his book on the history of medical evacuation will be published in the near future by the office of Air Force history.

As of 2006, Thomas and wife Anne live in Alexandria, VA. Their son, David, and son-in-law, Roy, also graduated from USNA. Their grandson, Andrew, the son of Roy and their daughter, Jennifer, is currently a midshipman in the USNA Class of '08. Dr. Julian and Anne also have two granddaughters, Claire and Kylie.