Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Mark Strehle, US Army Armor entered Service in June of 1990 from Omaha, NE after taking his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was selected to serve as an Armor / Cavalry Officer and did his initial training in Fort Knox, KY. Assigned to 3rd/77th Armor Battalion in Mannheim, Germany, he deployed to Operation Desert Storm in July 1991 as the leader of an M1A1 Abrams Tank Platoon. His initial command was with 3/37th Armor at Fort Riley, KS, thereafter he served as an exchange instructor with the US Army Engineer School in Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Mark worked training and operations assignments throughout his career including institutional capability developments and collective training initiatives with mid-career graduate schooling at the Command and Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Here Mark was selected to serve with the 2000 US Army Blue Ribbon Panel with the Army Leadership Training and Professional Development committee. Mark was selected for re-assignment as an Air Assault Infantry Battalion Executive Officer with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, KY. Later he served as a Field Grade Commander with the Rear Detachment of the Second Brigade 101st ABN (AASLT) with a follow-on individual deployment as a Strategic Operations Desk Officer in the Strategic Operations Center of the Multi-National Force in Baghdad, Iraq during the 2007 “Surge.” Here he received The Bronze Star Medal and Joint Meritorious Unit Award for service in a combat zone. LTC Strehle was the Operations and Training Officer for the 4th Cavalry at Fort Knox, KY where he was responsible for developing, then implementing training and education programs for deploying National Guard and Reserve Component organizations bound for combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark retired after 20 years Serving “Under the Oath” from Fort Knox, KY in July 2010 where he was the primary action officer moving the US Army Armor Center to then Fort Benning, Georgia (now Fort Moore).
Mark has served as a Curator and Curator/Exhibitor (three years) as well as the Education Director (three years) for the non-profit Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum. As Education Director his department set a 25- year record for annual student contacts (34,000(+)) in education programs serving grades 2-12 in 27 school districts, homeschool programs, well as adult education and continuing education with Creighton University and six other universities. These included the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (being selected as an Honorary Fellow with the Art of War Fellows Program). His efforts also resulting in a dramatic increase in volunteer service and satisfaction for several departments. He also served seven years as a Senior Army Instructor and Chair of the Military Science Department for the US Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at Omaha Bryan (standard) and Boys Town (specialized population) High Schools. This teaching Leadership, Citizenship, Emotional Intelligence, and Skill Synthesis while building strong relationships with community veteran organizations and cadets.
