Until June 2015, Colonel Charlie Elliott, U. S. Army, retired, served as the general manager of the Alexandria operations of Freeman Holdings of Louisiana when he retired from GM duties. Charlie then took on the responsibility of Director of Military Liaison and Marketing, an important position as Freeman Holdings continues to strengthen its relationship with the military.
Colonel Elliott is a retired Army aviator with twenty-six years of service and over 2,000 hours of flight service, including combat time in the Air Cavalry in the Republic of Vietnam. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Armor in 1970 and a graduate of the Army flight school in 1971, he is qualified in the Huey, Cobra and OH-58 (Bell Jet Ranger). He has served in several Army units including the 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Armored Division. Upon his return from Vietnam, Colonel Elliott taught instrument flying at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He has commanded two armor companies and one attack helicopter company, and served on the staff at Battalion, Brigade, 1st Army, Department of the Army and Army Group levels.
Colonel Elliot helped to form and activate (including assistance in drafting the first Table of Organization and Equipment) the first aviation special operations unit. He commanded the Attack Helicopter Battalion in the 5th Infantry Division. After battalion command, he was selected for the Army War College and attended the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. On his second tour in Heidelberg, Germany, he served as the last Chief of War Plans in Central Europe (Central Army Group). As a war planner, he was the NATO liaison with the French planners and the First French Army. As the senior NATO planner , he was responsible for the central European operational campaign planning in cooperation with Allied Air Forces, for all NATO military operations, ranging from three to seven international Army Corps. Colonel Elliott also helped develop and field test the NATO command post that was deployed to Bosnia.
His awards include twenty-four awards of the Air Medal, two of which are for valor, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Palm and the German Silver Cross of the Armed Forces. Subsequent to Million Air’s participation in the relief efforts of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the United States Coast Guard awarded him the Meritorious Public Service Award.
Prior to his retirement, Colonel Elliott was the Senior Army Advisor to the Georgia Army National Guard with special emphasis on their aviation operations. He is a FEMA-trained state coordinator and holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from Northeast Louisiana University as well as a Master’s degree in Management from Webster University.
Colonel Elliott retired from the Army in 1996 and returned home to Monroe, Louisiana, to assist in the family business. He relocated to Alexandria in 2005 when he became the general manager of Million Air Alexandria.