Colonel Michael Mihalik serves as the Illinois Air National Guard Director of Staff. As the Director, he oversees the daily operations of the headquarters staff and directs activities of his staff members in the areas of strategic planning, policy implementation, personnel services, logistics, recruiting and retention, facilities, security and force protection, along with homeland security and homeland defense. He works daily with his Army National Guard counterparts within the state headquarters. He acts on behalf of the Assistant Adjutant General for Air in times of his absence. He works with Non-governmental agencies and Inter-agencies to coordinate and provide manpower and resources in times of need. He works closely with the Illinois WMD-CST and the Illinois CERF-P organizations.
Colonel Mihalik previously served as the Commander and Base Civil Engineer, 126th Civil Engineer Squadron, 126th Air Refueling Wing, Illinois Air National Guard, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Where he was responsible for the wing's sustainment for $140 million in facilities and infrastructure to enable the completion of the KC-135 air refueling mission. He commanded a 68 person squadron that included military, state and civilian personnel across the full spectrum of facility infrastructure management completing over 2,700 work orders annually.
Colonel Mihalik entered the Air Force in May 2003 with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and completed Air Force Reserve Officer Training (ROTC) in 2003 from Mississippi State University, he commissioned into the Air Force. After serving at both multiple base level and staff level position, he accepted a headquarters position with the Air National Guard at the National Guard Bureau, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where he served the 92 field units and filled many leadership and key Civil Engineering roles. He assumed his current position in Jan. 2022. Prior to his current position, he was on staff as Chief, Expeditionary Support Branch, Air
National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Andrews, MD.
EDUCATION
2002 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Field Training, Lackland AFB, Texas
2003 Bachelors of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi
2004 Aerospace Basic Course, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
2009 USAF Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
2011 Masters in Environmental Policy and Management, American Military University, Correspondence
2014 USAF Air Command and Staff Officer School, Correspondence
2019 USAF Air War College, Correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2003 – October 2003, Casual Status at 14 Air Force, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
2. October 2003 – October 2006, Civil Engineer Officer and Mission Support Group Admin Officer, 7th Civil Engineer
Squadron / 7th Mission Support Group, Dyess AFB, Texas
3. October 2006 – April 2009, Contingency and Deployments Office and Executive Officer, HQ Air Force Civil
Engineer Support Agency, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida
4. August 2007 – Feb 2008 – Deployed Chief of Base Development, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
5. January 2010 – July 2010, Deployed NTM-A/CSTC-A Joint Engineer, Kabul, Afghanistan
6. August 2010 – June 2012, Deputy Commander of Programs Flight, 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer
Squadron, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
7. August 2011 – March 2012, Deployed CJSOTF-A Deputy J-7, Bagram Air Base Afghanistan
8. June 2012 – May 2017, Various Positions at Staff Level, Air National Guard Readiness Center, Joint Base
Andrews, Maryland
9. May 2017 – Jan. 2022, Commander and Base Civil Engineer, 126th Civil Engineer Squadron, 126 Air Refueling
Wing, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
10. Jan. 2022 - Present, Director of Staff, Illinois Air National Guard
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2011 – March 2012, Deployed CJSOTF-A Deputy J-7, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
2. January 2010 – July 2010, Deployed NTM-A/CSTC-A Joint Engineer, Camp Eggers (Kabul), Afghanistan
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster
Joint Commendation Medal with One Oak Leaf Clusters
AF Commendation Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
AF Achievement Medal with One Oak Leaf Clusters
Meritorious Unit Award
AF Outstanding Unit Award
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
AF Overseas Ribbon Short with One Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with One Oak Leaf Clusters
AF Longevity Service with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
AF Training Ribbon
NATO Medal
State Awards
Illinois Military Attendance Ribbon with One Device
Illinois State Active Duty Service Ribbon
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant 28 May 2003
First Lieutenant 28 May 2005
Captain 28 May 2007
Major 11 June 2012
Lieutenant Colonel 25 August 2016
Colonel 1 February 2022
(Current as of Jun 2022)