Colonel Mike Fea is the Commander, 51st Medical Group and the Command Surgeon, 7th Air Force, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. As commander, he provides leadership and direction to 380 personnel in four squadrons in the Air Force’s most forward-deployed permanent wing. The group’s primary mission is to prevent disease, optimize performance, provide clinical care to over 14,000 warfighters, dependents, and DoD civilians daily, and be ready to transition to contingency medical operations at a movement’s notice. As the 7th Air Force Command Surgeon, Colonel Fea serves as the air component surgeon to U.S. Forces Korea and is the primary medical advisor to the numbered Air Force commander.
Col. Fea is a native of Granite City, Ill. and enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF) in September 1990 as an Aerospace Propulsion Specialist (C-130s). Col. Fea honorably separated from the USAF in 1994, attended North Carolina State University earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and re-entered the USAF as a direct commissioned officer in 1997.
Col. Fea has commanded twice at the squadron-level and has served as both a Joint Staff and Air Staff action officer. He is a licensed engineer, board certified industrial hygienist, and Level III Joint Qualified Officer. Col. Fea has spent 21 years in the practice of preventive medicine supporting Air Force, joint, and coalition forces and has deployed in support of Tropical Storm Allison relief and Operations NOBLE EAGLE and ENDURING FREEDOM. He also won the 2004 United States Air Force Company Grade Officer Bioenvironmental Engineer and 2016 United States Air Force Surgeon General Field Grade Officer of the Year awards. Prior to his current assignment, Col Fea was the Special Assistant to the USAF Surgeon General for Trusted Care (High Reliability) where he developed healthcare improvement strategies impacting 44,000 healthcare personnel in 76 Military Treatment Facilities and enhancing $6.1 billion dollars in medical care to 2.6 million beneficiaries.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
2003 Master of Science in Civil (Environmental) Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio 2003 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
2004 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 USAF Contingency War Planner’s Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2007 Joint Medical Planner’s Course, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. 2007 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence and in-residence by fellowship 2011 Intermediate Executive Skills Course, San Antonio, Texas 2012 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence 2015 Master of Strategic Studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2015 Interagency Institute for Federal Healthcare Executives, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Arlington, Va. 2018 Joint Strategic Medical Leadership Course, Defense Health Headquarters, Falls Church, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1991-September 1994, Aerospace Propulsion Specialist, 41st Airlift Squadron, 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, Pope Air Force Base, N.C. 2. November 1997-September 2000, various positions culminating as Bioenvironmental Engineer, 314th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron, 314th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
3. September 2000-July 2003, various bioenvironmental engineering positions culminating as Chief Occupational Health Element, 59th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 59th Medical Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas 4. August 2003-July 2006, Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander, 31st Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy
5. July 2006-July 2007, Joint Staff Intern, Logistics Directorate, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
6. July 2007-July 2010, Joint Operations Environmental Health Officer, Logistics Directorate, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
7. July 2010-July 2012, Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander, 779th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 79th Medical Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Md. 8. August 2012-June 2014, Commander, 15th Medical Operations Squadron, 15th Wing, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (November 2013-February 2014, Commander, 379th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia)
9. July 2014-May 2015, Student, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 10. June 2015-July 2018, Deputy Chief, Officer Force Development Division, Manpower, Personnel, and Resources Directorate, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Falls Church, Va. 11. July 2018-June 2019, Special Assistant to the Air Force Surgeon General for Trusted Care, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Falls Church, Va. 12. July 2019-Present, Commander, 51st Medical Group and Command Surgeon, 7th Air Force, Osan Air Base, ROK
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS July 2007-July 2010, Joint Operations Environmental Health Officer, Logistics Directorate, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., as a major
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with silver leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS 2004 USAF Company Grade Officer Bioenvironmental Engineer of the Year 2013 Lead, USAF Biomedical Sciences Corps and Patient Centered Medical Home Teams of the Year awards 2016 Headquarters USAF Surgeon General Field Grande Officer of the Year
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
2004-Present, Licensed Professional Engineer (Environmental Engineering), Raleigh, N.C. 2005-Present, Certified Industrial Hygienist, American Board of Industrial Hygiene, Lansing, Mich.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Oct. 10, 1997
First Lieutenant Oct. 1, 1999 Captain Oct. 1, 2001
Major Nov. 1, 2007 Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2012 Colonel Frocked
(Current as of July 2019)