Charlie Thomas was born and raised in the "Hell´s Kitchen" section of New York City. He moved to Long Island and graduated from Mac Arthur High School in Levittown. He attended C. W. Post College after which he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1967. Charlie attended Basic Training and Hospital Corps School at the Naval Station, Great Lakes, IL. and served as a Hospital Corpsmen in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the Republic of Vietnam.
After his Honorable Discharge from the U. S. Navy, Charlie moved to Hudson County, NJ and attended New Jersey City University, where he received a BS and MS degree in Criminal Justice. He entered the New Jersey State Police Academy in September 1977 and graduated in January 1978. He served as a uniformed State Trooper at the Flemington, Somerville and Newark Barracks on the New Jersey Turnpike before being promoted to the position of New Jersey State Police Detective in the Casino Gaming Unit at the Richard Hughes Justice Complex. Charlie transferred to the New Jersey Transit Police in 1988 where he served in various leadership assignments before retiring in 2010 as the Lieutenant of the Planning Unit in the Department´s Headquarters in Newark.
In 1984, Charlie enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard as an Intelligence Sergeant with the 1st/113th Infantry Battalion at the Jersey City Armory. Charlie served in numerous leadership positions during his 22 years of military service in the New Jersey Army National Guard. He deployed as the First Sergeant of a Medical Company providing medical support in Honduras during Hurricane Relief Operations. He deployed as a Battalion Command Sergeant Major to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of a Stabilization Task Force assigned to the 29th Infantry Division. He also deployed to Iraq in 2004, as a Brigade Command Sergeant Major with the 42nd Infantry Division Support Command as part of Task Force Liberty during Operation Iraqi Freedom III.
Charlie retired in April 2006 as the last Command Sergeant Major for the 42nd Infantry Division Support Command when the Brigade´s Colors were cased. All together, he served 32 years in Law Enforcement and 28 years in the Military.
In November 2004, Charlie and his beautiful wife Jeanette moved to the Four Seasons at Mirage from Jersey City, New Jersey just prior to his deployment to Iraq. Charlie is the proud father of a son and three daughters and eight grandchildren.