Colonel Michael J. Zuhlsdorf serves as the 11th Wing commander and installation commander at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington D.C. As commander of the host wing and installation, he is responsible for providing security, personnel, contracting, finance, medical and infrastructure support to the 11th Wing, 70 mission partner units on the installation, and more than 17,000 military and civilian employees and their families throughout the National Capital Region. The 1,000-acre installation is home to a range of military and civilian agency mission partners including Marine Helicopter Squadron One, the White House Communication Agency, the Joint Air Defense Operations Center, the Defense Intelligence Agency, United States Coast Guard Station Washington, and Navy and Air Force Ceremonial Guards.
Prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Zuhlsdorf served as the vice commander of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and commander of the Air Force Element on the installation, supporting both Naval District of Washington and Air Force District of Washington priorities.
He enlisted in the Air Force in 1986, attaining the rank of staff sergeant before being accepted into the Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program in 1994. He then entered the University of Oklahoma - College of Civil Engineering where he received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in January 1997. Since then, he has served in a variety of positions at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of the Air Force, major command, and base levels. He was the senior military assistant at the Defense Technology Security Administration and a National Defense University Eisenhower School graduate, and he was selected as an Air Force fellow in the Strategic Policy Intern program.
He has successfully accomplished roles as a joint base vice commander, a two-time mission support group commander, HAF/A4C Civil Engineer Directorate Readiness Division chief, Civil Engineer officer career field manager, and a two-time Civil Engineer squadron commander. He has also deployed as an Engineering flight commander at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, and Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan; as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy area engineer at Balad Air Base, Iraq; and as the 451st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron commander at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
EDUCATION
1986 Basic Military Training, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas (Honor Graduate)
1986 Environmental Support Technical Training, Sheppard AFB, Texas (Distinguished Graduate)
1989 Noncommissioned Officer Preparatory School, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
1991 Associate of Arts in General Studies, Rose State College, Midwest City, Oklahoma
1991 NCO Leadership School, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
1992 Associate of Science, Environmental Technologies, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
1996 Bachelor of Environmental Science, Civil Engineering College, University of Oklahoma-Norman, Oklahoma (ROTC Distinguished Graduate)
1999 Master of Science in Management-Human Resources, Troy State University, Troy, Alabama
2002 Graduate of Environmental and Engineering Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio
2002 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama (Top Third Flight), in residence
2007 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, by correspondence
2010 Air Force Fellow, Strategic Policy Intern (IDE), National Capital Region, Washington, D.C.
2011 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, by correspondence
2015 Master of Science in National Resource Strategy (SDE), Eisenhower School, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.
2019 USAF Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1986 – January 1994, environmental support specialist, 2854th Civil Engineer Squadron, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
2. February 1997 – July 2000, resource management engineer, project programmer and Readiness Flight commander; 355th CES, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
3. August 2000 – June 2002, student; Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
4. July 2002 – August 2003, commander; 8th CES Readiness Flight, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea
5. August 2003 – January 2005, chief of maintenance engineering; 52nd CES, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
6. March 2004 – June 2004, commander; 506th Air Expeditionary Group Engineer Flight, Kirkuk AB, Iraq
7. January 2005 – June 2006, deputy commander; 52nd CES Engineering Flight, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
8. August 2005 – January 2006, commander; 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Engineering Flight, Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan
9. July 2006 – December 2006, Integrated Mission Support Branch program manager and directorate of Installations & Mission Support at Air Combat Command Headquarters, Langley AFB, Virginia
10. January 2007 – July 2007, deputy area engineer; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Balad AB, Iraq
11. August 2007 – May 2008, chief of Garrison Support Branch; Expeditionary Combat Support Division, directorate of Installations & Mission Support at Air Combat Command Headquarters, Langley AFB, Virginia
12. June 2008 – July 2009, executive officer; Installations & Mission Support at Air Combat Command Headquarters, Langley AFB, Virginia
13. July 2009 – June 2010, IDE fellow – Strategic Policy Intern Program, Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
14. July 2010 – January 2011, commander, 451th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
15. January 2011 – June 2012, A7C Installation Support Panel Office coordinator, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
16. June 2012 – July 2014, commander, 11th CES, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
17. July 2014 – June 2015, student, Eisenhower School, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington D.C.
18. July 2015 – June 2017, senior military assistant to the director, Defense Technology Security Administration, Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia
19. June 2017 – June 2018, commander, 8th Mission Support Group, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea
20. July 2018 – July 2019, chief, HAF/A4C Readiness Division, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
21. July 2019 – February 2020, commander, 11th Mission Support Group, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
22. February 2020 – June 2020, joint base vice commander and air force element commander, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.
23. June 2020 – Present, commander, 11th Wing and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
June 2015 – June 2017, senior military assistant to the director, Defense Technology Security Administration, Office of the Secretary of Defense-Policy, Pentagon, Washington D.C., as a Colonel
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit Medal, one oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal, six oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
1997 Air Combat Command Phase I & II Operational Readiness Inspection “Superior Performer”
1999 355th Fighter Wing Lance P. Sijan Award Nominee; Company Grade Officer Category
2000 Air Combat Command Phase I & II Operational Readiness Inspection “Superior Performer”
2003 8th Fighter Wing Benjamin O. Davis Tuskegee Airman Leadership Award Winner
2003 8th Fighter Wing Lance P. Sijan Award Nominee; Company Grade Officer Category
2003 United States Air Force Colonel Frederick J. Reimer “Outstanding Readiness Flight” Award
2004 Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe Major General Lupia Military Manager of the Year
2008 Department of Defense Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Special Recognition Award Winner
2011 Headquarters Air Force, A4/7 Field Grade Officer of the Year
2013 11th Wing Lance P. Sijan Award Nominee; Field Grade Officer Category
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, January. 19, 1997
First Lieutenant, January. 19, 1999
Captain, January. 19, 2001
Major, Sept. 1, 2006
Lieutenant Colonel, December. 1, 2011
Colonel, May 1, 2016
(Current as of June 2020)