Reston-based Leidos, a national security, health and engineering solutions company, recently announced that Colonel Thomas G. “Tom” Fergusson, U.S. Army (Ret.) has been inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Col. Fergusson served as a military intelligence officer for 30 years before retiring and joining the defense industry in 1995.
“When I learned late last year that I’d been selected for the Hall of Fame, it came as a complete surprise,” said Fergusson, a Senior Defense Analyst at Leidos. “Being inducted in the presence of family and friends at Fort Huachuca was one of the proudest, yet most humbling, moments of my life. It is a distinct honor to be one of four men inducted into the MI Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014, joining many distinguished soldiers and civilians inducted in past years, several of whom were much admired mentors and peers during my Army career.”
During his military experience, Col. Fergusson completed combat tours in Vietnam and Laos as a young officer as well as subsequent assignments in Germany, South Korea and Japan. As a soldier-scholar, he taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York and the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He also published an award-winning book on the history of British military intelligence, which was based on his doctoral dissertation at Duke University.
Not only did Col. Serve three tours as the S-2 (senior intelligence officer) for an armored cavalry regiment in Texas and G-2 (senior intelligence officer) for a mechanized infantry division in Germany, but he also commanded Army intelligence units at the battalion level in South Korea and the brigade level in Japan. He then served his final tour on active duty in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.
Col. Fergusson was nominated for induction into the MI Hall of Fame by Colonel John G. Lackey III, US Army (Ret.), who called Fergusson ‘a visionary of intelligence architecture, a mentor of the Intelligence Community.’ Col. Lackey, “Colonel Fergusson’s contribution to the Military Intelligence service is immeasurable.”
Over the course of his military career, Col. Fergusson received numerous awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, two National Defense Service Medals and the Vietnam Service Medal with seven campaign stars.
Col. Fergusson has continued to contribute to national security and the U.S. Intelligence Community as a defense consultant since his retirement. He has taught Analysis 101, a course on critical thinking and intelligence analysis, to thousands of analysts and managers from all 16 agencies of the U.S. Intelligence Community since 2009. He has worked in multiple areas in the defense industry including force transformation, program management, strategic planning, defense policy formulation and implementation, intelligence education and training, and intelligence and C4ISR architectures.
Col. Fergusson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Pint with a bachelor of science in engineering. He earned his master of arts and doctoral degrees in military history from Duke University during his Army career. He is also a lifetime Fellow of Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs.
“Colonel Tom Fergusson has made significant contributions to the Army and our nation, and deserves this high honor for his work. As a leading intelligence expert, he serves as an excellent role model for future generations within the intelligence community,” said Leidos Group President, Larry Hill.