Michael Repass

Michael S. Repass is a major general in the U.S. Army. In 2011, he is the head of Special Operations Command Europe. He came to the theater assignment after serving as commander of U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), replacing Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko in a formal ceremony Tuesday, June 17, 2008. His previous assignment was as deputy commander of Special Operations Command Europe (Airborne). He had operational command of two Special Forces groups during the active combat phase of the Iraq War.

After graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he first served as a platoon leader and company executive officer in a mechanized infantry division. After qualifying for Special Forces, he led an Operational Detachment A and then served on a Special Forces company staff. Moving back to conventional troops, he commanded a company and was on the brigade staff of the 101st Airborne Division (air assault), and, working with foreign troops, host nation support plans officer and executive officer, U.S. Army Element at Headquarters, Central Army Group (NATO), Heidelberg, Germany. Returning to Special Forces, he was assigned as a company commander and battalion operations officer, group operations officer, and executive officer of the 10th Special Forces Group. He then commanded the 1st Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa.

He was then assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command as the Chief, Ground Branch, Special Actions Division. He commanded the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) which included commanding the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM during two combat tours; 5th Special Forces Group was under its tactical control. He was the Executive Officer to the Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh United States Army.

He holds a master’s degree in strategic studies, and is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and U.S. Army War College. At the War College, he wrote a research paper on Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace and Operational Preparation of the Battlespace in counter-terrorism, the latter including the little-discussed Advanced Force Operations.