Dr. Mark Michels served in the US Army for over thirty years, retiring from active duty in October 2019 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He enlisted in the infantry in 1988 as a private and after 12 years of service accepted a full Green to Gold Scholarship to the ROTC program of Syracuse University. Through his varied career, he achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7) and in May 2001 was commissioned a Second Lieutenant as an Air Defense Artilleryman, later transitioning to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Officer (FA-52) functional area. He has deployed to the Middle East and Africa in various campaigns and missions.
