Michael R. Strobl (born c. 1966) is a retired U.S. Marine Corpsofficer from Stafford, Virginia, and is currently Assistant Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.[1][2]
Biography
Strobl joined the service when he was 17 years old, as told in the movie Taking Chance (2009).
He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Colorado Mesa University, a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Averett University, a Master’s of Science (MS) degree in Manpower Systems Analysis, with distinction, from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.[2]
After retiring in 2007, Strobl accepted a position as an Operations Research Analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation) at the Pentagon. While serving at CAPE, he was the lead analyst on military manpower and compensation issues as well as the Defense Health Program. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in September 2016 and served as the Deputy Director, Manpower Plans and Policy Division until assuming his current position in August 2021.[2]
Strobl was working at a desk-job, but volunteered to escort PFC Phelps home.[6] He initially did this because the press release concerning the death of PFC Phelps had listed Clifton, Colorado as his hometown, a town near Strobl's hometown of Grand Junction. The final destination and resting place, however, of PFC Phelps would be Dubois, Wyoming, Phelps having only lived in Clifton for his senior year of high school.
During the trip, Strobl kept a diary of the experience and his feelings. After he concluded the mission, he wrote an essay entitled "A Marine's Journey Home" from the notes in the diary and shared it with Phelps's father John. The essay appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 2, 2004 (with the approval of John Phelps), and then a longer version (of 5,375 words) appeared in the July issue of Marine Corps Gazette as "Taking Chance".