Colonel Michael J. Bacino

Michael J. Bacino enlisted in the Army in 1972 and served in both the 4th Infantry and 3rd Armored Division. After his discharge in 1975 he joined the Iowa Army National Guard the following day. After serving as an enlisted Soldier, he was commissioned in 1978 as a Signal Lieutenant and would serve with distinction in positions of increased responsibility and trust throughout his career.

From 1989 to 1991 LTC Bacino was the Commander of the 234th Signal Battalion with a strength of 875 civilian and military personnel involved in telecommunications. As Senior Project Manager for the largest exchange/upgrade of mobile communications equipment in Iowa history. The training methodology he used was later adopted as the model for all Army communications organizations to follow for upgrade. The organization was fully combat ready for deployment during Desert Storm.

From 1991 to 1993 LTC Bacino served as the Commander and the developer of the Equipment Maintenance Center-CONUS and the Regional Training Site for Maintenance. His vision, leadership, and collaboration are directly responsible for development of the first multi-COMPO General Support (GS) maintenance collective training program capable of providing a host of training opportunities from maintenance management through full component rebuilds and all assorted individual maintenance tasks in between.

From 1993 to 1997 COL Bacino served as the Iowa Army National Guard Deputy Chief of Staff (G3) and the Brigade level 67th Troop Commander. He commanded 6 Battalions and 4500 Soldiers. In the National Guard this is called a dual assignment and is only given to highly qualified senior officers.

From 1997 until his retirement in January 1999, he served as the Iowa Army National Guard Chief of Staff. COL Bacino continued to orchestrate resources to ensure Maintenance units in training received the very best training facilities, the most modern equipment, and highly skilled staff trainers to improve their maintenance knowledge and skills, while simultaneously returning fully capable components to the Army supply system.

COL Bacino’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (1OLC), the Meritorious Service Medal (3OLC), the Samuel Sharp Medal and numerous other lesser awards and decorations.

COL Bacino retired from active duty on 31 January 1999 but continued to serve the State of Iowa as one of the senior level telecommunications advisors. COL (R) Bacino served as the Sustainment Maintenance Training Center senior advisor to the commander and staff for an additional 12 years in a civilian capacity, retiring in 2017 with 39 plus years of service.