Colonel Hutchins received his commission in the United States Marine Corps in 1996. After earning his wings of gold from the United States Navy pilot training program in Meridian Mississippi, he reported to Cherry Point, NC to learn to fly the AV-8B Harrier. His first operational tour was with VMA-214 “Blacksheep” squadron in Yuma, Az. A designated Weapons and Tactics Instructor and evaluator pilot in the Harrier, he has over 3000 flight hours, 875 of which are combat hours. He has served at Yuma Az; Twenty-Nine Palms California; Cherry Point NC, Camp Lejeune NC, and several bases in the Middle East. Most Recently, he commanded Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223) in Cherry Point NC from May 2015 to December 2016, providing two AV-8B detachments to the Marine Expeditionary Units as well as commanding a squadron combat deployment of Harriers in the Middle East. During his command, VMA-223 was awarded the Lawson H. M. Sanderson Award for Marine Attack Squadron of the year in 2015 and 2016. His staff assignments include Marine Special Operations Command, USMC Program Analysis and Evaluation at the Pentagon and the F-35 Joint Program Office where he held the billet of F-35B Variant Lead. Colonel Hutchins has a Masters in Science in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, a Bachelor of Arts from North Carolina State University and is a Graduate of Command and Staff College.