Air Force Vet Michael Jensen Joins SkyRunner as Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Jensen, a two-decade U.S. Air Force special tactics veteran, has been named as chief strategy officer of Shreveport, Louisiana-based aircraft manufacturer SkyRunner.

The retired USAF lieutenant colonel will be responsible for overseeing strategic partnerships as part of SkyRunner’s global defense strategy and optimizing the warfighting configuration of its special light-sport aircraft platform, the company said Tuesday.

He has served as a special tactics officer at AF Special Operations command for 20 years and ended his military career as deputy commander of the 724th Special Tactics Group.

In his 2012 Naval Postgraduate School thesis, Jensen noted that the SkyRunner is the vehicle type needed in the Special Operations Command for its “unique capability” that complements aerial platforms.

Upon obtaining a copy of the thesis, SkyRunner CEO Stewart Hamel applied the concepts, saying that the paper paved the way for the company to change its “why” and see an expanded vision.

Jensen was the lead strategist for CHECKMATE, a military strategy group that offered advice to the defense secretary and sought to restructure USAF’s war approaches.

He also commanded the 26th Special Tactics Squadron following his leadership responsibility for special operations on four continents.