Michael Komorous

Retired U.S. Air Force colonel (O-6) & command pilot · Defense advisor · Host of Voice for Valor

Michael Komorous served twenty-five years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel (O-6) in 2025 — a combat-rated officer and command pilot whose career ran from standing nuclear alert to the cockpit of the C-17 Globemaster III to flying the MQ-1 Predator, and ultimately to the halls of the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. He commanded at the squadron and group level in the Air National Guard, including as commander of the 145th Operations Group, and served as an evaluator pilot with the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron.

In Washington, he served in legislative affairs at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense — Acquisition & Sustainment / Industrial Base Policy, acting as a liaison between the Department of Defense and Congress with a focus on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). His work on rated-force retention helped stand up the Technician Pilot Task Force, a multi-Wing recruiting, retention, and relocation effort.

Today he works at the intersection of national defense, technology, and artificial intelligence across three ventures:

• Voice for Valor — the podcast and newsletter he hosts, sharing the stories of veterans, first responders, and their families.
• DoD Industry Advisor — his defense-advisory practice: pre-solicitation positioning, capture strategy, and market intelligence for the Department of Defense.
• Alpha Zulu Solutions — a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) delivering defense technology and government-contracting solutions.

He builds AI systems and is a research professor at George Mason University's Innovation Lab. He holds a master's degree in Resource Management from the National Defense University.

Find Michael online

• LinkedIn
• YouTube — Voice for Valor
• Substack
• X / Twitter
• Facebook

Featured & recognized

• We Are The Mighty — “The Long Road Home: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit to Congress” (byline).
• U.S. Congressional Record — recognized in the official Senate record (116th Congress, June 18, 2019).
• Hero Front Podcast — guest interview.
• National Defense University — master's, Resource Management (2020).
• MIT Seminar XXI — alumnus, national-security executive program.
• DVIDS / National Archives — U.S. Air Force record, 145th Operations Group change of command (2018).