McAdams High School graduate Colonel Dr. Patricia Wells Thomas, U.S. Air Force Reserve, returned to Attala County last week for the Veterans Aisle of Honor ceremonies on Veterans Day, where she was formally presented with the Defense Superior Service medal, the sixth highest honor in the Air Force. She also received resolutions from Attala County and McAdams High School designating November 12 as Colonel Dr. Patricia Wells Thomas Day.
Thomas is the only African American female from Attala County to receive this distinction and achieve the rank of Colonel in the United States Air Force, while also earning a doctorate.
She currently serves as the director of Contracting, Procurement, and Acquisitions at Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL, and an adjunct professor at Auburn University-Montgomery.
Thomas is the youngest of four children born to A.J. and Lula Wells of McAdams. Her grandparents, John Henry and Ethel Wells and Ervin and Annie Rockett all resided in Attala County. Thomas said they were pillars in the community, and she vividly recalls working in her grandfather Wells’s fields as a young girl at his McAdams estate.
“My father had a field here, and every summer he would plant corn. He would plant different vegetables, and he would actually sell those items in the Attala County community,” she said.
Thomas’s parents lived in Chicago when she was born, but in the early 1980s, the family migrated back to Attala County. Thomas was in the third grade, and she stayed in Attala County until graduating from McAdams High School in 1992.
“Being around family, that was so important, and I always reflect on that time as simpler times,” she said. “I traveled around the world, but I’ll tell you there’s no place like Attala County, especially in the Kosciusko/McAdams area.”
Thomas credited her teachers at McAdams for instilling work ethic and developing students while training them to be productive citizens in society.
Thomas’s mother passed away during her senior year of high school. Following her passing, Thomas decided to join the military, but the Air Force wasn’t her original choice.
“I came to my dad and I told him I really want to go into the military,” she said. “In fact, I wanted to go to the Marine Corps. And he insisted, he said, ‘Why don’t you go off to college?’”
That is exactly what Thomas did. In 1992, she attended Grambling State University in Louisiana, where she discovered the university’s reserve officer training corps (ROTC).
“It all started with ROTC. It was the aircrafts that actually got me in the uniform,” said Thomas. “Getting the understanding of aircrafts, and that’s our primary mission, it kept evolving and going from 1993 all the way to 2021.”
Thomas received her first commission in December of 1996, where she served as Second Lieutenant at her first duty station in Vandenberg, CA. During her time there, she was promoted to First Lieutenant. Requesting a move closer to home, Thomas next transitioned to Maxwell Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where she was promoted to Captain.
She then transitioned to Tuskegee University, where she was able to mentor students and help develop a diverse group of officers, whom she said they called “the next Tuskegee airmen.”
Thomas was promoted to the rank of Major and went on to work for a defense contract management agency in Atlanta.
She was then stationed in Iraq, where she spent over a year. Upon returning to the U.S., she moved back to Montgomery, left active duty, and joined the Air Force Reserve. In 2012, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
“That was very challenging because, at that point, they really wanted to evaluate your knowledge of leadership, and how well you were able to position yourself in the upcoming ranks,” she said.
In 2018, Thomas was promoted to Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve, solidifying her as the first African American female from Attala County to achieve the rank.
“During that time period, I know they looked at my records, and they saw that I had a vast understanding and a true adeptness of not only just the Air Force, but the joint services as well: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard,” said Thomas. “And I just fully understood and immersed myself in understanding the acquisition process.”
She said the road was not always easy, and she overcame several challenges along the way.
“Being from Attala County, it was difficult going into the military,” she said. “And it was such a diverse organization, with folks that come in from everywhere with different levels of background. So, I kind of stuck out like a sore thumb, but I was able to quickly understand and learn the mission of the Air Force and understand what my purpose was in the Air Force.”
Many of the challenges she experienced came from navigating life as a single mother. Now a mother of three to Oliver Wells, Isaiah Thomas, and RaeAna Thomas, she said her children have been a strong pillar during her career.
“Even before I left Attala County in 1992, I was a single mom. Being able to still maneuver but having a strong support system was very key. My children have been a strong pillar to me as I progressed through the ranks,” said Thomas. “I had a lot of long days and long nights — a lot of sleepless nights understanding how to maneuver. Oftentimes, I was the only female in the room, and even more, I was the only African American in the room. So, it was very difficult to maneuver, but I had a lot of mentors, and a lot of individuals that wanted to guide me and inspire me as well.”
Thomas said it was a special moment being in her hometown last week on Veterans Day, but it was especially significant receiving her Defense Superior Service Medal alongside fellow hometown veterans and family.
Retired Col. Paul “Voodoo” Nelson (left) laughs along with Col. Dr. Patricia Wells Thomas and retired Col. Francis Mack (right) at the chancery court building last Friday.
Landon Gibson / The Star-Herald
“To be able to have that and bring that back to my hometown here in Attala County was very instrumental,” said Thomas. “I really just enjoyed sharing this with the veterans here and showing them that hey, another one of your homegrown fellow veterans has aspired and achieved.”
The day after she received this honor, Thomas was presented with a resolution at the Attala County Chancery Court building by District Four Supervisor Willie Perteet, declaring Nov. 12 as Colonel Dr. Patricia Wells Thomas Day in Attala County. She also received a resolution from McAdams High School, presented by principal Dietrich Harmon.
Beat Four Supervisor Willie Perteet presents Col. Dr. Thomas with a resolution from Attala County, dedicating the day in her honor.
Landon Gibson / The Star-Herald
McAdams High School Principal Dietrich Harmon presents Col. Dr. Thomas with a resolution from McAdams High School.
Landon Gibson / The Star-Herald
Thomas also made a surprise announcement last Friday when she presented Attala County and McAdams High School with the inaugural, annual Colonel Dr. Patricia Wells Thomas academic scholarship.
Thomas said the scholarship will serve two goals: to encourage and support students at McAdams High School to pursue secondary education at a historically Black college or university (HBCU) or consider a new role in the ROTC program to observe opportunities and advance leadership skills.
The single, annual scholarship will provide $1,500 to an HBCU on the recipient’s behalf upon enrollment. Eligible students must be an African American male or female graduate of McAdams High School. They also must maintain at least a 2.8 grade point average and choose to attend an HBCU actively listed on hbcufirst.com. Students must enroll in at least 12 credit hours. If the selected recipient also joins an ROTC program, they will be awarded an additional $500, granted once. The scholarship application will be available from Dec. 1 until March 1 of next year. The scholarship’s first recipient will be announced on March 31, 2022.
Thomas said she was honored to receive the resolutions and she chose to return home to receive the honors in an effort to inspire Attala County youth.
Retired Col. Paul “Voodoo” Nelson hugs Col. Dr. Thomas after congratulating her for her achievements.
Landon Gibson / The Star-Herald
“I was just welcomed and honored to be able to receive that. I'm here to inspire the young kids in Attala County — McAdams, Sallis, McCool, Kosciusko, or Ethel,” said Thomas. “I want to inspire them and let them know that you don't have to have a particular background or come from a particular school to be able to achieve. You have to just have work ethics built inside, stay the course, and continue your path.”
