Tom Young served in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Air National Guard. He has also also flown combat missions to Bosnia and Kosovo, and additional missions to Latin America, the horn of Africa, and the Far East. In all, Young has logged nearly five thousand hours as a flight engineer on the C-5 Galaxy and the C-130 Hercules, while flying to almost forty countries. Military honors include three Air Medals, three Aerial Achievement Medals, and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.

Young is the author of SILVER WINGS, IRON CROSS; THE HUNTERS; SAND AND FIRE; THE RENEGADES; SILENT ENEMY; and THE MULLAH'S STORM.

His nonfiction publications include THE SPEED OF HEAT: AN AIRLIFT WING AT WAR IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. His narrative, "Night Flight to Baghdad," appeared in the anthology OPERATION HOMECOMING: IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AND THE HOME FRONT IN THE WORDS OF U.S. TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES.