SSgt. Michael High joined the United States Army in February 2000. He completed One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Benning, GA and was awarded an MOS 11B (Infantryman). He then completed US Army Airborne School, and later fractured his hip on a static-line parachute jump at the end of the Ranger Indoctrination Program. Upon being cleared by Fort Benning medical personnel, he was then assigned to 1st BDE, 25th ID (Light) at Fort Lewis, WA. Once he reached 1-25 IBCT, he was assigned to B Company, 1-5 IN as a rifleman.

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While stationed with B Company, he served as a Grenadier, Anti-Tank Specialist, SAW Gunner, Assistant M240B Gunner, M240B Gunner, Fire Team Leader, Sniper, Sniper Section Leader, and Stryker Vehicle Commander. In 2004, he deployed with 1-5 IN during 1-25 SBCT’s support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF III-IV). During this deployment, he would participate in the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah, the 2005 Battle of Tal Afar, and helped secure the city of Mosul during Iraq’s first free election. During this deployment, he was assigned as a Sniper Section Leader, Fire Team Leader, and Stryker Vehicle Commander. After this deployment, the brigade would reflag and move to Germany as 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, and he would also move with them.

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He would remain with 2nd SCR in Germany, as a member of B Company, 1st Squadron until 2009, and would deploy again in support of OIF VII-IX with the regiment. During this deployment he would serve as both a Rifle Squad Leader and HKT Section Leader, leading small-unit Infantry elements on patrols and high value target raids in and around Sadr City, Baghdad and would also participate as part of the spearhead element of the 2008 Battle of Sadr City. After this deployment to Iraq, he would then be assigned as a US Army Drill Sergeant at Fort Knox, KY.

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After Drill Sergeant duty, he then moved to Fort Wainwright, AK, and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF IX-X) with A Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st IN, 1-25 SBCT. He would serve as both a Weapons Squad Leader and Rifle Platoon Sergeant on this deployment. Additionally, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for safely evacuating a Stryker of personnel after an IED attack and subsequent small-arms ambush. He would also receive the Purple Heart for wounds received after an IED struck his own Stryker, causing crush syndrome to his left leg, a severed left knee ACL, and shrapnel wounds to his jaw, neck, and left shoulder. He would finish his career as the Fort Wainwright installation Modern Army Combatives Chief Trainer, and was the head coach of the 2014 USARAK Combatives Champion Team.

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He left the Army in 2016, where his wife Cara and he remained in the North Pole, Alaska area until June 2022. He graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) with an Associates of Fire Science (Suma Cum Laude), and a Bachelors of Emergency Management (Suma Cum Laude). His wife worked as a benefits counselor for the Military and Veterans Services Department at UAF and he worked as a Fire Department Training Officer at North Star Volunteer Fire Department (NSVFD) until September 2021, when the effects of his service injuries and combat-related mental health issues became so much that he could no longer physically do the work required. In January of 2022 he finally had his right hip replaced after the pain from the old injury, coupled with years of continued abuse, became too much and the head of the femur was confirmed to have died. The effects of his TBI are also increasingly causing difficulties in his daily life, and make him feel less useful to the people he cares about. Currently, they live in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he and his wife are both retired. He is working toward starting his own business with woodworking and starting a nonprofit ministry that brings combat-wounded war fighters on outdoor adventures with little to no cost to them.

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He has many once-in-a-lifetime experiences from being the beneficiary of veteran non-profit organizations. From trips and hunting experiences that he could never afford on his own, help building on skills he has, learning new skills, making lifelong friends, and just good healing from the wounds of a career full of combat operations. Training of any type, especially BJJ or MMA, is an essential part of maintaining a healthy body and mind for living their best lives after the military. He would love to see all veterans working with each other, helping each other, and holding each other accountable to continue a life dedicated to service to others.