LATHAM – Thomas DiNoto, a graduate of Norwich Senior High School and the son of Marie DiNoto and the late Robert DiNoto, both of Norwich, has been promoted to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5 in the New York Army National Guard.

Warrant Officers are technical specialists and Chief Warrant Officer 5 is the highest rank a warrant officer can reach.

DiNoto is an Army pilot and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who has served in the Army and Army National Guard since 1993. He is currently a full-time National Guard soldier and the commander of Detachment 20 Operational Support Airlift Command. This small unit flies a C-12 passenger aircraft assigned to the New York Army National Guard.

DiNoto is a master aviator who has accumulated over 8,000 hours of accident free flight time. He has over 1,500 hours as an instructor pilot, 800 hours of hazardous duty flight time, and is rated as an Instrument Examiner and Maintenance Test Pilot.

He initially trained as a helicopter scout observer and was assigned to the 5th Battalion 501st Attack Helicopter Battalion. In 1995, he attended flight school and trained as a fixed wing aircraft pilot.