Brigadier General & Deputy Commanding General Stephen L. A. Michael (Ret.), U.S. Army, Kansas City, MO
Photo credit: Sandra Michael
Stephen L. A. Michael was a brigadier general and deputy commanding general in the U.S. Army. He immigrated from Guyana, South America, in 1979 and was commissioned into the U.S. Army Infantry in 1988.
Michael spent 32 years leading light and airborne infantry formations, commanding at every level through brigade, and serving in a variety of leadership positions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.
He first deployed to Somalia in 1992 and culminated his service as the Deputy Commanding General at the Combined Arms Center for Training. Michael has a diverse operational background: with 2-503 Infantry, he took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom I, where the battalion conducted a night combat parachute assault onto Bashur Drop Zone in Northern Iraq and helped secure the city of Kirkuk; he deployed to Ghana and Nigeria as part of JTF Liberia to help the Economic Community of West African States stabilize Liberia as President Charles Taylor was exiled to Nigeria; served as aide de camp to Lieutenant General Kip Ward, then the deputy commander for United States Army Europe and 7th Army - with General Ward, Michael deployed to Israel for 10 months as part of the inaugural Israeli-Palestinian Security Coordinator Mission, helping prepare the Palestinian Authority take control of Gaza; led 2-12 Infantry, in Al Doura, Baghdad as part of the surge; was the deputy director for the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Transregional Threats Coordination Cell, enabling the chairman of the Joint Chiefs’ best military advice on Afghanistan - Pakistan and Transregional Threats.
Towards the end of his career, Michael served in the Indo-Pacific, as deputy commander for Operations, 25th ID; the G-3/5/7 for U.S. Army Pacific, and the Deputy J5 for the Indo-Pacific Command. Michael has consistently said that his story cannot be told anywhere else but in ‘these United States of America.’ His legacy, he believes, is his wonderful family and the soldiers and leaders that he has served, loved, and led.
Michael is married to the former Sandra Stanford of Georgetown, Guyana, and they are proud parents of Vaughn, Shane, Sean, and Chanel. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Michael holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and was the Senior Service College Fellow to Columbia University for FY 2011.