Michael Ruffini

Michael Ruffini, the author of The Unceded Territory and Yellow Calf's Medicine, spent most of his life in the U.S. Military. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, serving on two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. When his enlistment expired, he used the G.I. Bill to completed his degree in English Literature at Wayne State University where he later obtained his Master's degree. He enlisted in the Air Force Reserve at Selfridge Air Base and served in a combat rescue unit where he obtained his commission. He became an Air Reserve Technician, one of the full time staff of the Reserves. He also served with the U.S. Coast Guard as an analyst and in his later years, with the U.S. Army as an expert in IT law and funding. As an Air Force Officer he deployed in theater during Operation Desert Storm, Operation Deliberate Guard, the Air Force Operations monitoring Bosnia, for the Kosovo conflict, and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and retired from the Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel