Col. Michael Gallagher is currently the commander of the 23rd Mission Support Group at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. He leads a diverse group of more than 1.5K military, civilian and contractors providing support and services to more than 28K active duty and retired military and family members. His group of six squadrons executes an annual budget in excess of $58M and maintains an installation with 830 facilities and more than 117K acres, including adjacent bombing and strafing ranges, drop and landing zones in support of A-10C, HC-130J, HH-60W, and Guardian Angel forces as well as a tenant base defense group. He is responsible for ensuring the readiness of support forces to mobilize and deploy to build, secure and sustain air base operations at austere bare base locations anywhere in the world.
Col. Gallagher grew up in Boise, Idaho and graduated from Boise State University in 1998, where he received a Bachelor’s of Arts in History. He was commissioned through the Air Force Officer Training School in 2000, and then graduated from Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training in 2001. He has held numerous assignments and duties at multiple echelons and units across the Personnel Recovery enterprise. Prior to command of the 347th Operations Support Squadron, Col. Gallagher was the unit’s Director of Operations. He has also served as a deployed HC-130 Detachment Commander on two separate occasions. Before squadron command he was assigned to the Headquarters United States Air Force in both the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. In these capacities he was responsible for integrating seven MAJCOM's programmatic inputs into cohesive Mobility, Special Operations, Combat Search and Rescue, Building Partnerships (BP) and VIP airlift portfolios, representing over $115B across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). Additionally, he was a lead Air Force integrator of PR operations, policy, and doctrine while managing Air Force oversight of fixed-wing and rotary-wing Rescue aircraft operations to include HC-130P/N/J and HH-60G. Previous to this assignment, Col. Gallagher was dual hatted as Vice Director and J-58 Division Chief at the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency.
Col. Gallagher is a master combat systems officer with nearly 2,200 hours of flight time and over 150 hours of combat and combat support time, in the T-43, EC-130E, EC-130H, C-130E, MC-130P, HC-130P and HC-130J.
EDUCATION
1998 Bachelor of Arts, History, Boise State University
2000 Officer Training School
2001 Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training, Academic Excellence Award
2005 Squadron Officer School (Residence)
2007 Master of Science in International Relations, Troy University
2010 Air Command and Staff College (Non-Residence)
2012 US Army Command and General Staff College (Residence)
2015 Air War College (Non-Residence)
2021 Joint Professional Military Education II, Mary Edwards Walker Distinguished Writing Award
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 2000–Apr 2001, Navigator Student, 562nd Flying Training Squadron, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.
2. Apr 2001–Aug 2002, EC-130E Navigator and Assistant Flight CC, 42nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
3. Aug 2002–May 2005, HC-130P Navigator/Resource Advisor, 79th Rescue Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
4. Nov 2005–May 2006, HC-130P Instructor Navigator/Chief of Weapons and Tactics Flight, 79th RQS, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
5. May 2006–Aug 2006, HC-130P Instructor Navigator/Assistant Flight Commander, 71st Rescue Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
6. Aug 2006–Jan 2008, HC-130P Evaluator Navigator/Assistant Wing Executive Officer, 23rd Wing, Moody AFB, Ga.
7. Jan 2008–Mar 2009, HC-130P Evaluator Navigator/Chief, HC-130 Standardizations and Evaluations, 347th Rescue Group, Moody AFB, Ga.
8. Mar 2009–Jun 2011, HC-130P Evaluator Navigator/Assistant Director of Operations, 71st RQS, Moody AFB, Ga.
9. Jun 2011–Jun 2012, IDE Student, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
10. Jun 2012–Sep 2013, Chief of Personnel Recovery Programs, Directorate of Programs, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
11. Sep 2013–Aug 2014, Executive Officer, Directorate of Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. Aug 2014–July 2015, Chief of Personnel Recovery Aviation, Current Operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
13. July 2015–Aug 2016, Director of Operations, 347th Operations Support Squadron, Moody AFB, Ga.
14. Aug 2016–July 2018, Commander, 347th OSS, Moody AFB, Ga.
15. Aug 2018–June 2021, J-58 Div Chief, Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.
16. Jun 2021–June 2022, Vice Director, Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.
17. Jun 2022–Present, Commander, 23rd Mission Support Group, Moody AFB, Ga.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters Air
Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
Army Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 2000
First Lieutenant May 2002
Captain May 2004
Major Dec 2009
Lieutenant Colonel May 2015
Colonel Dec 2021
(Current as of July, 2022)