Major General Michael “Erik” Kurilla is from Elk River, Minnesota and was commissioned in the Infantry from the United States Military Academy, West Point in 1988. He has led Airborne, Mechanized, Stryker, Ranger and Joint Special Operations Units in combat, peacekeeping and operational deployments. He participated in a Combat Parachute Assault during Operation Just Cause (Panama); served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (Saudi Arabia/Iraq), Operation Restore Hope (Haiti), Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo-Macedonia), Operation Joint Resolve (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), and Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq). MG Kurilla spent every year from 2004 – 2014 in the CENTCOM AOR commanding Conventional and Special Operations Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He most recently served as Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division.
MG Kurilla has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point; a M.B.A from Regis University, and a M.S. in National Security Studies from the National War College.
