Brigadier General Michael A. Ryan was a

General Officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Military service

Ryan received a Regular Army commission in Armor in 1981 upon graduating with a Journalism degree from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

as a Distinguished Military Graduate. His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses,

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

and the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

. He holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Strategic Studies. He has also attended a variety of NATO seminars and courses. Ryan's first duty assignment was in the 3rd Infantry Division as a Tank Platoon Leader, Tank Company Executive Officer and Support Platoon Leader in the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor in

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After serving as the S-3 Air, he commanded Alpha Company, then Headquarters & Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor, 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He returned to Germany as a maneuver company team Observer Controller at the Combat Maneuver Training Center (CMTC) at th
Hohenfels Training Area
(at

Hohenfels, Bavaria Hohenfels (literally ''High Cliffs'') is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in the region of Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in Bavaria, Germany. The town is host to the United States Army Garrison Hohenfels, which operates the Join ...

) and then served as a Tank Battalion S-3 in both the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor, 8th Infantry Division in

Wildflecken Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772 (US Forces used APO NY 09026 until July 15, 1991, when APO/FPO/DPO ...

and the 5th Battalion, 77th Armor, 1st Armored Division in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

. Reassigned to the CMTC following Command and General Staff College, BG Ryan served as the Executive Officer for the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Opposing Forces Battalion (OPFOR) and as the Executive Officer and Operations Officer for the CMTC Operations Group. Returning to Fort Hood, he commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th U.S. Cavalry (Mustangs), 1st Cavalry Division, deploying with his battalion to Camp McGovern, Brcko, Bosnia-Herzogovina on SFOR 4 and then served as the G3 (Operations Officer) for the 1st Cavalry Division. Following graduation from the U.S. Army War College in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, BG Ryan commanded the 1st (Iron Horse) Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division and following that command served as the Director of the Joint Advanced Warfighting Program (now Division)/Analytical Projects Office in Alexandria, VA. He was assigned in July 2005 as the Deputy Division Commander for Maneuver of the 1st Armored Division headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany. In late 2006 he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) the first rapidly deployable NATO Corps HQ located near Düsseldorf, Germany. He was deployed with the ARRC to Afghanistan for ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) IX in 2006-7 in that position. He served in 2009 as the Director of Strategic Communications and Strategic Effects for ISAF and USFOR-A (US Forces-Afghanistan). Since August 2009, BG Ryan has been serving in Heidelberg, Germany as the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

Deputy Commanding General and Acting Commanding General. He is recently retired following over 30 years of distinguished service. BG Ryan has deployed to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

for

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. I ...

and to Iraq during

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

I & II and to Afghanistan during

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

(OEF) and ISAF IX & XI.

Awards and decorations

General Ryan's awards include: *

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

2nd Award *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

2nd award * Meritorious Service Medal, 5th award * Army Commendation Medal, 3rd award *

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Afghanistan Campaign Medal The Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005. T ...

s *

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOT-EM) is a United States Armed Forces award created by George W. Bush on 12 March 2003, through Executive Order 13289. The medal recognizes those military service members who have deployed over ...

and Service Medal *

NATO Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. Ba ...

* Parachutist Badge *

Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

References

1st Armored Division ADCM BiographyClass of 1975 update
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michael A. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) United States Army generals Tank personnel Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni