Michael A . Ryan Brigadier General Michael A . Ryan is a General Officer in the United States Army . Military service . Ryan received a Regular Army commission in Armor in 1981 upon graduating with a Journalism degree from Arizona State University as a Distinguished Military Graduate . His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses , Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College . He holds a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies . He has also attended a variety of NATO seminars and courses . Ryan ’ s first duty assignment was in the 3rd Infantry Division as a Tank Platoon Leader , Tank Company Executive Officer and Support Platoon Leader in the 1st Battalion , 64th Armor in Kitzingen , Germany . After serving as the S - 3 Air , he commanded Alpha Company , then Headquarters & Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion , 67th Armor , 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood , Texas . He returned to Germany as a maneuver company team Observer Controller at the Combat Maneuver Training Center ( CMTC ) at the Hohenfels Training Area ( at Hohenfels , Bavaria ) and then served as a Tank Battalion S - 3 in both the 1st Battalion , 68th Armor , 8th Infantry Division in Wildflecken and the 5th Battalion , 77th Armor , 1st Armored Division in Mannheim . Reassigned to the CMTC following Command and General Staff College , BG Ryan served as the Executive Officer for the 1st Battalion , 4th Infantry Opposing Forces Battalion ( OPFOR ) and as the Executive Officer and Operations Officer for the CMTC Operations Group . Returning to Fort Hood , he commanded the 1st Battalion , 8th U . S . Cavalry ( Mustangs ) , 1st Cavalry Division , deploying with his battalion to Camp McGovern , Brcko , Bosnia - Herzogovina on SFOR 4 and then served as the G3 ( Operations Officer ) for the 1st Cavalry Division . Following graduation from the U . S . Army War College in Carlisle , Pennsylvania , BG Ryan commanded the 1st ( Iron Horse ) Brigade , 1st Cavalry Division and following that command served as the Director of the Joint Advanced Warfighting Program ( now Division ) / Analytical Projects Office in Alexandria , VA . He was assigned in July 2005 as the Deputy Division Commander for Maneuver of the 1st Armored Division headquartered in Wiesbaden , Germany . In late 2006 he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of NATO ' s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ( ARRC ) the first rapidly deployable NATO Corps HQ located near Düsseldorf , Germany . He was deployed with the ARRC to Afghanistan for ISAF ( International Security Assistance Force ) IX in 2006 - 7 in that position . He served in 2009 as the Director of Strategic Communications and Strategic Effects for ISAF and USFOR - A ( US Forces - Afghanistan ) . Since August 2009 , BG Ryan has been serving in Heidelberg , Germany as the V Corps Deputy Commanding General and Acting Commanding General . He is recently retired following over 30 years of distinguished service . BG Ryan has deployed to Bosnia for Operation Joint Forge and to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom I & II and to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom ( OEF ) and ISAF IX & XI . Awards and decorations . General Ryan ' s awards include : http : / / www . vcorps . army . mil / Biographies / Biography - RyanMichaelA _ 2009 - 09 . pdf