Homecoming Honoree: Lt. Col. Neil Dimmitt

First, he was raised in an Air Force family, but didn’t really travel.

“I’m an atypical Air Force brat,” Dimmitt said. “I was born in the United Kingdom, but my family moved to San Angelo when I was two. I stayed until I was commissioned in the Air Force, and my parents are still in town.”

Then, he planned to join the Marines after high school. But his dad and his Junior ROTC instructor convinced him that college ROTC was a better option. That turned out to be great advice as Dimmitt joined ASU’s ROTC Detachment 847, earned ROTC and Carr Academic Scholarships, and graduated magna cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in history and his Air Force commission.

“The ASU experience provided me with many mentors and professors that helped mold my worldview and set me on a path to be a successful officer,” Dimmitt said.

During his Air Force career, Dimmitt has quickly risen through the ranks of the Air Battle Manager (flying operations) community. His titles have included air weapons officer and tactician, flight commander and deputy director of staff. He has served at bases in Okinawa, Utah and Oklahoma, as well as four deployments to the Middle East.

“The ASU experience provided me with many mentors and professors that helped mold my worldview…”

But again, his performance excellence made him anything but typical. He has been named a Flight Commander of the Year and Field Grade Officer of the Year. He was promoted “below the zone” ahead of his peer group, a feat accomplished by less than 5% of military officers. He has earned two master’s degrees, has nearly completed his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University, and now serves as an instructor at the Air Command and Staff College in Alabama.

For his distinctive and outstanding career accomplishments and service to our nation, the ASU Alumni Association has named Dimmitt its 2020 Distinguished ROTC Alumnus.

“It’s a great honor,” he said, “to be recognized by an institution that gave me the education, friendships and experience to form me into who I am today.”

Dimmitt also met his wife, Deborah, at ASU, and they now have three sons.