NAS Fallon commander to speak at CEDA breakfast

Capt. Shane Tanner, commanding officer of Naval Air Station Fallon, is the featured speaker for the Churchill Entrepreneurial Development Association’s September breakfast.

Tanner will speak Sept. 25 at 7 a.m. at the Stockman’s Steakhouse.

A 27-year military veteran, Tanner became NAS Fallon’s 34th commander during a change of command ceremony in March 2022. He was born in Auburn, New York, and received his commission from Texas A&M University in 1998 as a member of the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets. He completed Primary and Intermediate flight training in Pensacola, Fla., and Advanced Flight Training in Norfolk, Virginia, earning his Wings on Oct. 20, 2000.

Tanner graduated from the U.S. Naval War College as a member of the “Halsey Group” with a masters of arts in national security and strategic studies in 2009. He graduated from the Joint Forces Staff College in 2014 earning Full Joint Qualification. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School (CAEWWS).

Tanner’s operational tours span the East Coast, West Coast, FDNF-Japan, and FDNF-Europe. He has flown with VAW-121 “Bluetails,” VAW-115 “Liberty Bells,” VAW-117 “Wallbangers,” VAW-120 “Greyhawks,” and commanded the VAW-125 “Tigertails” where he led the Fleet’s first E-2D squadron in the historic homeport shift from Norfolk, Virginia, to Iwakuni, Japan.

Tanner has accumulated more than 3,000 hours, logged more than 600 carrier arrested landings and completed 174 combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During his command in Fallon, Tanner is actively involved with Rotary, and he has also been a strong supporter of the local Purple Star schools. The Churchill County School District became the first in Nevada where all schools received the Purple Star designation.

The Purple Star School Program, which is administered by a state’s department of education, stresses the importance of assisting military children with school transition and develops programs that recognize the value of military service and civic responsibility.