COL Michael M. Larsen was raised in a military family and was born in Panama. He graduated from The Citadel in 1992 with a BA in History. His first assignment was with 4-8th Infantry (3rd Brigade, 1st AD) in Mannheim, Germany. After the redeployment of the brigade to Fort Lewis, WA, his unit re-flagged to 1-23rd Infantry (3rd BDE, 2nd ID) and he continued to serve there as a platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion scout platoon leader. His final assignment before attending the Infantry Officer Advanced Course was as a platoon leader in the I Corps Long Range Surveillance Company, F/52 Infantry (Airborne).
From 1997 to 2002, COL Larsen served at Ft Bragg, NC. His initial assignment was as the Plans Officer for 2nd BDE, 82nd ABN. He commanded twice at Fort Bragg. He was the commander of Alpha Company, 2-325th Airborne Infantry Regiment and the commander of F/51 Infantry LRS (the XVIII Airborne Corps Long Range Surveillance Company). COL Larsen commanded for a third time in the 4th Ranger Training Battalion at Ft Benning, GA from 2002-2004, where he led Delta Company (the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course) with service in Sulaminyah and Mosul, Iraq. During 2004 to 2006 COL Larsen attended the Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Ft Leavenworth, KS, where he received a Master's Degree in Military Art and Science.
He returned to Ft Bragg, NC to serve again from 2006-2010. After serving as a G3 Plans Officer for the XVIII ABN Corps, he then served as the Battalion Executive Officer for 2-504th Parachute Infantry Regiment with service at Al Asad, Iraq in 2007. Later he served for over two years as the Brigade S3 for the 1st BCT, 82nd ABN and during that time period he served in Talil, Iraq in 2008 and later in Ramadi, Iraq in 2010.
In 2010, COL Larsen served in the G3 of US Army Africa (USARAF) as the Chief of the Contingency Command Post in Vicenza, Italy. While assigned to USARAF, he deployed to the Abidjan, Ivory Coast in support of a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation.
From 2011 to 2014 he served in the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) where he commanded the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, "The ROCK." During that time, he led the battalion through a combat deployment in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. Following command in 2013, COL Larsen served as the Deputy Brigade Commander of 173rd IBCT (Airborne) for one year.
COL Larsen most recently attended the Naval War College in Newport, RI, where he received a Master's Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.
COL Larsen's military schooling consists of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Services and Staff School, Bradley Leader Course, TOW Leader Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course, Military Freefall Basic Course, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course, Airborne School, Static-Line Jumpmaster Course, and Ranger School. COL Larsen has earned both the Expert Infantryman's Badge and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Additionally he has been awarded foreign airborne wings from Canada, Argentina, Ukraine, Cameroon, and Master wings from South Korea.
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