Michael “Mugs” Reilly is a Senior Advisor at Patriot Group. Before retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Reilly served as the F-15C Operational Test Director at the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Test Center (AATC), where he led the evaluation and integration of advanced capabilities across the ANG’s air superiority fleet. Over the course of a 20-year military career, he held operational, test, and staff positions as a fighter and instructor pilot in the F-15C, F-16C, T-38, T-6, and T-37, and conducted test programs supporting F-15 modernization.
Lieutenant Colonel Reilly also served as a Congressional Legislative Liaison to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, advising senior leaders and engaging Members of Congress on USAF and ANG priorities. He later served as a Combat and Mobility Requirements Branch Chief at the National Guard Bureau (NGB/A5), where he managed over $1 billion in NGREA funding to accelerate delivery of combat-ready capabilities across fighter, mobility, and tanker fleets.
He currently flies the Boeing 777 for American Airlines. He serves as Chairman of the Advanced Aircraft and Flight Systems Subcommittee under the Strategic Planning Committee of the Allied Pilots Association, where he leads efforts to assess and advise on the integration of AI, autonomy, and next-generation systems in the commercial aviation industry. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
