Lt Col George Granholm graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1998 and earned his Master’s in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000.

Trained as a C-21A and C-17A pilot, he has served as Aircraft Commander, 12th Airlift Flight; Instructor Aircraft Commander and Chief of Training, 12th Airlift Flight; Aircraft Commander, 17th Airlift Squadron; Instructor Aircraft Commander and Wing Plans Officer, 437th Airlift Wing; and Wing Executive Officer, 437th Airlift Wing.

In 2007, Lt Col Granholm was selected as an Olmsted Scholar. He and his wife, Rena, started their Olmsted experience in 2008 at the Goethe Institute in Freiburg, Germany. In 2011, he earned his Master’s in Political Science from the University of Freiburg. He says, “The Olmsted Program gives officers from across the military services the opportunity to attain fluency in a foreign language and to engage in graduate study at an overseas university, thereby gaining the global perspective necessary for military leaders in today’s national security environment.”

In 2011, he returned to an operational assignment as Director of Operations, 17th Airlift Squadron. Continuing 17 years of service, today he is the Commander of 375th Operations Support Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.