Colonel Paul M. “Mike” Phillips retired from the U.S. Army in July, 2018, after 31 years of military service. A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Colonel Phillips attended Terre Haute South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, and graduated from H.H. Dow High School in Midland, Michigan, in 1983. In 1987, he graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and was commissioned an armor officer through the university’s ROTC program. In 1989 he accepted a Regular Army appointment in the Military Police Corps.
From 1988-1991, Colonel Phillips deployed to Germany and Panama, and served in the Persian Gulf War with the 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He later commanded the 57th Military Police Company, Camp Carroll, Republic of Korea, and was Provost Marshal of the Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Colonel Phillips was an Army specialist in Sub-Saharan Africa. From 1999-2008, he was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an analyst and regional branch chief, and later as Defense Attaché to the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania, Eritrea, and Liberia. His foreign languages include French and Kiswahili.
In 2009, Colonel Phillips deployed to Afghanistan and Pakistan as Chief of Liaison to the Pakistan Army. Afterwards, he was Deputy Director for Intelligence (J2) in the National Military Joint Operations and Intelligence Center. In 2015, he returned to Pakistan as Director of Operations (J3), Office of the Defense Representative, Pakistan at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. Colonel Phillips retired from the U.S. Army War College, where he had served for several years as the Director of South Asian Studies teaching national defense policy and strategy.
Colonel Phillips holds a Bachelor of Arts in European history from Purdue, a Master of Arts in political science and international relations from Indiana University at Bloomington, and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Presently, he is a PhD candidate in King’s College London’s Defense Studies program. His dissertation approaches civil-military relations as one integral facet of a state’s social reproduction.
In addition to the U.S. Army War College, Colonel Phillips is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Joint Forces Staff College. He attended the Zimbabwe Joint Command and Staff College in 1987. His high-order decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (fifth award), the Army Legion of Merit, and the National Intelligence Achievement Medal.
Colonel Phillips is married to the former Jennifer Lynn Ancil of Kokomo, Indiana, a graduate of Purdue and George Mason Universities. They make their home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Together they have three immensely talented children.