David "Finch" Guenthner

David “Finch” Guenthner is a 2003 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and a current member of the Montana Air National Guard. While serving on active duty, Finch accrued almost 2000 hours in the F-16C Fighting Falcon and the T-38C Talon (a fighter/bomber trainer). Finch has Flawlessly Executed 80 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was awarded 4 Air Medals for his actions. Based on his performance, he was selected as one of just ninety Air Force representatives to handle the movement of Air Force One.

As an advanced echelon member, he would provide and coordinate all the support for the arrival, stay, and departure of Air Force One and its crew. This required delicate coordination between local officials, the United States Secret Service, Embassies, White House Staff, and Foreign Governments

Finch has been recognized numerous times for his outstanding leadership and military expertise. In 2013, he earned the 47th Flying Training Wing’s “Field Grade Officer of the Year” and also earned the Wing’s 2011 “Company Grade Officer of the Year.” No other officer in the history of the wing has earned both awards. In 2012, he was named Air Education and Training Command’s nominee for the Colonel James Jabara Award for Leadership and was also named the Air Force Association’s Officer of the Year for the State of Texas.

Throughout his active duty career, Finch placed a priority on higher education. He holds two Master’s degrees in Military Leadership and Aeronautical Science. He was named a distinguished graduate and earned a 4.0 GPA. In 2013, Finch was honored when his graduate thesis, “Weapon of Mass Information: Incorporating Social Media in the Information Instrument of National Power,” was selected for the Future Trends Study Award and named the #1 of 507 graduate theses. Additionally, he is a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force’s Squadron Officer School, a 6-week program that focuses on leadership and management.