Hello. My name is Mike Young.  I was a soldier, now a veteran.

  I am also a life-long learner. I graduated from Antioch University’s Leadership and Change Program in 2014. I created this site to share my research from my history dissertation about the Army Organizational Effectiveness Program.

I served in the US Army—both active and reserve—for 31 years.  Seven weeks after the start of the All-Volunteer Army (in August 1973), I enlisted as an infantryman 11B.  In the years that followed, I served in the 8^th Infantry Division, 82^nd Airborne Division, 5^th Special Forces Group, and the 11^th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Between those assignments, I also taught military history at the US Air Force Academy and attended the Post Graduate Intelligence Program at DIA. In 2003, I deployed for sixteen months to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where I served as the Deputy Commander of the Joint Detention Operations Group (JDOG). A year after returning from Gitmo, I retired as a lieutenant colonel.

My formal education includes a BA in International Studies and an MA in Military History, both from the Ohio State University. I also hold an MS in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College. In 2014, I received my PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

In my day job, I am the Command Historian for the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. I am also a founding member of the All Volunteer Force Forum (AVF Forum). We are a group of scholars and veterans dedicated to creating a national dialog on the viability of the AVF. Please visit our site at AVFForum.org.