Mike Bajema

Mike Bajema is a retired U.S. Army officer, Infantry-Armor combined-arms commander, joint forces strategic planner and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front. He served over 20 years as an Armor officer with 13 years of overseas experience. Fighting alongside Leif Babin and Jocko Willink from Task Unit Bruiser as the commander of Team Bulldog from the historic 1st Armored Division’s Ready First Combat Team, he established the first combat outpost (COP) in South-Central Ramadi and successfully defeated the insurgency’s stranglehold around COP Falcon. When not leading tactical formations, Mike served as a joint forces operational and strategic planner; graduating from the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Advanced Warfighting School. He was the only Army officer selected to serve as the 2014 Headquarters, Department of the Army’s senior fellow at the George C. Marshall European Center for European Security Studies and later shaped vital European partnerships while on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

The capstone of Mike’s career was commanding 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment and subsequent deployment to the Republic of Korea just miles from the demilitarized zone with North Korea. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Combat Valor for actions during the Battle of Ramadi.

Upon his retirement from the Army, Mike brings to Echelon Front vast expert combat leadership, proven organizational development techniques for building foundational extreme ownership, and strategic planning experience. He serves as a leadership instructor, speaker and strategic advisor for Echelon Front.