Colonel (COL) Michael Firmin is the Director of the Education, Training, and Evaluation Department of the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence Centre of Excellence in Vyškov, Czech Republic, a position he has held since June 2022.

COL Firmin entered the United States Army in 1994, enlisting after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Four years later he was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the United States Army Officer Candidate School (OCS), branched into the Chemical Corps. His first duty assignment as a commissioned officer was at Fort Campbell, KY where he was the Chemical Officer for 1 st Battalion, 327 th Infantry Regiment, followed by serving as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer for the 63 rd Chemical Company (Smoke/Decontamination). After his tenure at Fort Campbell, COL Firmin transitioned to Fort Bragg (later renamed Fort Liberty), North Carolina where he served as the CBRN Training Officer for the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), prior to commanding the Headquarters Support Company (HSC), 3rd Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne) (Dissemination).

COL Firmin was then assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA to serve with I Corps. COL Firmin deployed twice with I Corps, serving in the Joint Fires and Effects Cell in
support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and as a Current Operations Planner in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.  Following these deployments, he commanded HSC,
7th Infantry Division before transitioning back to I Corps, where he served as the Executive Officer for the Corps’ supporting Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion (HHB).

After leaving JBLM, COL Firmin served as the Senior Test Officer for the Maneuver Sustainment and Support Test Directorate with the US Army’s Operational Test Command (USAOTC) in Fort Hood (later renamed Fort Cavazos), Texas before moving to Houghton, Michigan to become the Department Chair for the Military Science Department at Michigan Technological University. COL Firmin then commanded the Northern California Army Recruiting Battalion in Sacramento, California. Following this assignment, COL Firmin again served as a Department Chair for a Military Science Department, this time at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

COL Firmin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, a Master of Science degree in Geological Engineering, and a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education  Administration. His significant awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (1x oak leaf cluster (OLC)), Meritorious Service Medal (6x OLC), Army Commendation Medal (1x OLC), Army Achievement Medal (1x OLC), and the Senior Parachutist and Air Assault Badges.

He is married to the former Katrina Bailey of Littleton, CO.  They have two grown children, Cassandra and Matthew.