Col Michael Mentavlos is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Office of Special Investigations (OSI), Quantico Marine Ground Installation, Quantico, VA. He provides direct operational oversight to the management of Headquarters OSI and ten wing-equivalent regional headquarters, including 322 units worldwide. In addition, Col Mentavlos provides strategic oversight and direction for the Department of Air Force's only felony-level criminal, counterintelligence, and fraud programs and advises the Commander, OSI, on the planning programming, and budgeting the Command's resources. Col Mentavlos recently concluded a 3-year tour representing the United States Air Force Reserve Command as the Committee Chair for the Defense and Security Issues Committee as part of NATO’s Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers.
Col Mentavlos entered the Air Force in 1997 when he was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at The Citadel, Charleston, SC. He is a Joint Qualified Officer and has served in various operational, command and staff positions throughout his career as a Special Agent with OSI. Col Mentavlos is a fourteen-time commander and has deployed on ten separate occasions. His deployed assignments include: Commander, Protective Service Detail, Baghdad, Iraq (2003/04); Team Leader, OSI Counterintelligence Team, Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan (2006); Commander, OSI Counterintelligence Detachment (JTF
Sword), Forward Operating Base Torkham, Afghanistan (2009); Regional Director of Investigations, International Contract and Corruption Task Force, Kabul, Afghanistan (2010); Commander, Expeditionary Detachment 2410, Contingency Operation Station Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq (2011); Regional Director of Investigations, International Contract Corruption Task Force, Kabul, Afghanistan (2013); Commander, Expeditionary Detachment 2413 (Task Force Black), Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan (2014), Commander, Expeditionary Detachment 2405 (Task Force Crimson), Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan (2016), Commander, 24th Field Expeditionary Squadron, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar (2019), Senior Law Enforcement Liaison, Kyiv, Ukraine (2023 - present).
In his civilian life, Col Mentavlos is a Special Agent with the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. He currently serves as the Special Agent-in-Charge, Southwest Field Office, Westlake, TX. Col Mentavlos is married to the former Angela Thompson. They have four daughters: Amber, Alexandria, Anna Marie and Avery.
EDUCATION
1997 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, The Citadel, Charleston, SC
2001 Master of Science in Human Resource Management, Troy State University, Troy, AL
2003 Squadron Officer School, correspondence
2007 Air Command and Staff College, correspondence
2011 Reserve Component National Security Course, Washington, DC
2013 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL (hybrid)
2016 Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, VA
2017 Joint Combined Warfare School (AJPME), Norfolk, VA
2018 NATO Senior Officer Policy Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2022 NATO Senior Reserve Officer Course, Oberammergau, Germany
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1998 – June 2001, Special Agent, OSI, Detachment 105, Robins Air Force Base, GA
2. June 2001 – December 2004, IMA to the Operations Officer, OSI, Detachment 522, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
3. December 2004 – December 2008, IMA to Commander, OSI, Antiterrorism Specialty Team, Lackland AFB, TX
4. December 2008 – April 2012, IMA to the Chief, Operational Plans and Readiness Division, OSI, Headquarters, Warfighting and Execution Directorate, Quantico, VA
5. April 2012 – June 2013, IMA to the Squadron Commander, OSI, 7th Field Investigations Region, 4th Field Investigative Squadron, Vogelweh Cantonment, Germany
6. June 2013 – August 2015, IMA to the Squadron Commander, OSI, 7th Field Investigations Region, 6th Field Investigative Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan
7. August 2015 – March 2017, IMA to the Vice Commander, OSI, 1st Field Investigations Region, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
8. March 2017 – June 2018, IMA to the Commander, OSI, 2d Field Investigations Region, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA
9. June 2018 – July 2020, IMA to the Commander, OSI, 6th Filed Investigations Region, Joint Base Pearl Harbor- Hickam, HI
10. July 2020 – June 2023, IMA to the Vice Commander, OSI, Quantico Marine Ground Installation, VA
11. June 2023 – May 2024, IMA to Commander, OSI, Quantico Marine Ground Installation, VA
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal Meritorious Unit Award
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary Award for Courage and Valor
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1999 Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Academy 2011 Air Force Office of Special Investigations Field Grade Officer IMA of the Year 2014 Air Force Office of Special Investigations Field Grade Officer IMA of the Year 2015 Air Force Office of Special Investigations Lance P. Sijan Award
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Member, Reserve Officers Association
Member, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
Member (former Chair), Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, Defense and Security Issues Committee
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 15, 1997
First Lieutenant June 15, 1999
Captain June 15, 2001
Major June 15, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel June 15, 2012
Colonel August 1, 2017
(Current as of May 2024)