BRIGADIER GENERAL MICHAEL D. STOHLER
Brig. Gen. Michael D. Stohler is the Assistant Adjutant General-Air, and Commander Indiana Air National Guard, Stout Field, Indianapolis. He is the senior advisor to The Adjutant General and responsible for organizing, training and equipping the 2000 Indiana Airmen, State employees and contractors serving primarily at the 122nd Fighter Wing and 181st Intelligence Wing.
General Stohler enlisted in the Indiana Air National Guard in 1985, serving as an aircraft crew chief on the F-4E until 1990, when he earned his officer commission. As an F-16 pilot and graduate of the United States Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Gen. Stohler served in various leadership positions in the 163rd Fighter Squadron, culminating in his selection for squadron command in 2006. He commanded the 122nd Operations Group, leading the flying organization through conversion from the F-16C Fighting Falcon to the A-10C Thunderbolt II. General Stohler served as the Commander of the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne Indiana, with the responsibility to provide decisive firepower and Agile Combat Support to Combatant Commanders worldwide. He preceded those roles as the 122nd Fighter Wing Vice Commander, then State Director of Operations for the Indiana Air National Guard at Joint Forces Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Brig. Gen. Stohler is a command pilot with over 4,100 hours in the F-16 and A-10 aircraft. He served in multiple combat deployments, logging 833 hours during 161 combat sorties in support of operations SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, ENDURING FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE, where he served as the first commander of the reactivated “Red Tails” of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group. General Stohler is currently a traditional “citizen soldier”; when he is not at Joint Force Headquarters, he works in the community as a commercial airline pilot. Prior to his current assignment, the general served as the Commander of the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Technology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind.
1991 Undergraduate Pilot Training, Distinguished Graduate, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
1998 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
1999 USAF Fighter Weapons School Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2002 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2006 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1986 - April 1990, F-4E Aircraft Maintenance Specialist, Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base, Ind.
2. May 1990 - March 1992, Assistant Training Officer, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
3. March 1992 - May 1993, Assistant Weapons & Tactics Officer, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
4. June 1993 - June 1999, Weapons & Tactics Officer, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
5. June 1999 - September 2002, Assistant Flight Commander, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
6. September 2002 - October 2004, Assistant Director of Operations, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
7. October 2004 - June 2006, Operations Officer, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
8. July 2006 - August 2010, Commander, 163rd Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
9. August 2010 - April 2016, Operations Group Commander, 122nd Operations Group, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind. (August 2012 – December 2012, Deputy Group Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Group, Bagram, Afghanistan and November 2014 – May 2015, Group Commander, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Jaber, Kuwait)
10. May 2016 - May 2017, Vice Wing Commander, 122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
11. May 2017 - April 2018, State Director of Operations, Indiana ANG, Joint Forces Headquarters, Indianapolis, Ind.
12. April 2018 - April 2019, Commander, 122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne ANG Base, Ind.
13. April 2022 - Present, Assistant Adjutant General, Indianapolis, Ind.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 4,100
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, F-16 and A-10
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device and three oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1991 Distinguished Graduate - Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
1992 Distinguished Graduate - F-16 Pilot Training, MacDill AFB, Fla.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 17, 1990
First Lieutenant July 7, 1992
Captain Nov. 19, 1994
Major Jan. 7, 2000
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 2004
Colonel Aug. 25, 2010
Brigadier General April 25, 2022
(Current as of September 2024)
