About

Michael Plehn Header Graphic

AT A GLANCE:

  • President, Plehn & Associates, LLC
  • Retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force
  • Former 17th President of the National Defense University
  • Former Military Deputy Commander of U.S. Southern Command
  • Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Writer

RESEARCH AREAS:

  • Strategy & Policy
  • Coercion Theory: Deterrence & Compellence
  • Special Operations
  • Technology and Warfare

BIOGRAPHY:
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mike Plehn is the President of Plehn & Associates, LLC, a strategic consulting firm that advises on personal and institutional advancement, growth, and success.

During his 37+ years of active-duty service in the Air Force he was stationed in—or deployed to—Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America. He was a Master Navigator in Air Force Special Operations, with more than 2,000 flight hours, primarily on the AC-130 gunship, as well as several hundred hours of flight time in the U-28, MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and several other aircraft.

In his 13 years as a General Officer, he served primarily in Joint assignments including the Director of Special Plans at U.S. Central Command, the Principal Director for Middle East Policy in the Pentagon, the Military Deputy Commander of U.S. Southern Command, and as the 17th President of the National Defense University. He also served as the Deputy Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command.

Mike holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in addition to three Master’s Degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Naval War College, and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  He has completed many other educational programs including a year-long fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., the Harvard Seminar for New University Presidents, and the United Kingdom’s Pinnacle Course for general and flag officers.  A fan of watching ice hockey, Mike is also an Eagle Scout who speaks somewhat passable Spanish.

PUBLICATIONS:

NDU Press


USAF

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