A Gifted Communicator

By Jack Saroni

Michael Louis Wetzel

May 24, 1968- November 18, 2020

---

Mike Wetzel (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219015122/michael-louis-wetzel)

Master Seargent Michael Wetzel committed his entire military and private sector career towards helping others by communicating the latest information through a variety of means. First working as a legal affairs clerk, and then a broadcaster, Mike spent nearly 25 years serving his country both overseas and at home. The father of two, Mike balanced the demands of his career with his family life, as the dedicated father was, according to his two daughters, “the most awesome dad any girl could hope for.”[1]

Michael Louis Wetzel was born on May 24, 1968 to Robert and Carol Wetzel in Norwich, Connecticut. Shortly after Michael was born, the family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where, in later years, Michael and his siblings attended Moanalua High School. Surrounded by the military infrastructure present on the island, Michael likely had his heart set on joining the military from a young age. Mike wasted no time and enlisted in the US Army directly out of high school in 1986.[2] In many respects the 1980s were quite an unpopular time to be in the military, due to the public’s view that the Vietnam War was largely a failure and a waste of both Americans’ lives and resources.[3] Michael’s enthusiasm, then, speaks volumes about his commitment to his country.

Over the course of his career, Michael constantly moved from one country to another as a member of the Army Public Affairs Association. This branch of the US Army was responsible for disseminating pertinent information across the different branches of the military, largely stationed out of significant military instillations. These assignments sent him across multiple continents, and he never spent more than a few years in any one location. His overseas postings included Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Saudi Arabia, where he handled public relations and communications.

 Mike began his career in Frankfurt, Germany, serving as a legal affairs specialist for a battalion of over 400 men, a job which he carried out from 1987-1990. Though not directly affiliated with public relations, his posting in legal affairs provided much of the professional groundwork needed for the future of his career.  In March of 1990, Wetzel was reassigned to Korea, marking the beginnings of his career in broadcast journalism, and providing the basis for the years of service to come.[4]

While in Korea, Michael managed the radio station of Camp Humphreys, the largest overseas American military base. [5] In addition to DJ, Michael also produced and managed other sources of media on behalf of the Army Public Affairs Association. Wetzel commanded the station for a few months before his next assignment when, in 1991, he was again redeployed to Germany, serving the same role as he had at Camp Humphreys. Mike Wetzel spent three years as a broadcaster for AFN Europe (American Forces Network), utilizing the knowledge he gained in Korea and previous deployment in Germany to boost morale and keep the tens of thousands of servicemen stationed in West Germany informed. The AFN is still in use today by the US Army and is one of the main apparatuses of communication between central command and Army regulars.[6]

Wetzel served in Germany from 1991-1994, a tumultuous time in the country’s history, with the fall of the Soviet Union finally reuniting the divided people after nearly 40 years of separation. [7] In this context, Michael’s role as broadcaster was given even greater importance, as one of the objectives of AFN Europe was to influence popular opinion and bridge the gap between the divided Germanies. This was his first foray into the field of psychological operations, and his efforts in Germany did not go unnoticed by his superiors in the Army.[8]

 In August of 1994, Michael was reassigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served in a PSYOP Battalions for the next two years. [9] PSYOP is the term given for the Psychological Operations division of the US Army, which focused on propaganda and influencing the opinion of populations of foreign countries. [10] Over the course of these two years, Wetzel was deployed to Saudi Arabia, Haiti, and Namibia to assist in psychological warfare. Given his prior experiences in Korea and Germany, Wetzel was well-suited for this new line of work. While in Namibia, Mike was stationed at the US Embassy and oversaw “creating radio and television spots for local stations to raise awareness of the threat of landmines.” [11] It was also during this time when Michael married Erica Card in Prince William, Virginia, on September 23, 1995.[12]

After only a year and half back in the United States, Michael was again deployed to Korea, where his communications skillset was put to use producing radio and television content for the Armed Forces. He was stationed in Seoul, where he worked for another two years. By this time in his career, Michael was a seasoned broadcaster and producer, and had gained enough experience to receive a promotion and new assignment in Washington, D.C. In the nation’s capital, Mike had his most responsibility to date – he was charged with interviewing top government officials on “topics of critical importance to military communities, such as the anthrax vaccine program, the TRICARE military healthcare system, Dept. of Defense Dependent Schools, Gulf War illnesses, Reserve/Guard initiatives, and the latest military technology.”[13] Instead of producing content for the troops stationed overseas, Michael was now tasked with creating content for the entirety of the Department of Defense and represented the Army’s main instrument for public relations.

Given Michael’s track record, he was soon given command of AFN Italy, where he oversaw operations of the same job he had performed. Beginning his three-year tenure as commander in April of 2001, Michael served with distinction throughout the post-9/11 period.  His expertise in public relations and communications was utilized in several ways by the US Army, most significantly in a national defense exercise in Egypt following the attacks on the twin towers. While he was commander, the AFN station received three Army Broadcast Awards. After three years in Italy, Michael was sent to Atlanta in 2004, where he assumed command of Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS), which thanks to Michael’s leadership, is now the Department of Defense's main apparatus for news and media. Utilizing the DVIDS, Michael and his staff connected over 13,000 deployed servicemen with their family and loved ones for the holidays. DVIDS is still in use to this day, allowing servicemen from across the world to interact with their families through a variety of audio and visual mediums.[14] It was around this time when Michael’s daughters were born, and Seargent Wetzel was tasked with the ultimate duty of serving his country while simultaneously raising a family with the help of his wife Erica.

On Facebook in 2019, Mike posted this image of himself at the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Someone just yelled ‘Adrian!’ back at the statue - wonder how many times that happens in a day,” he quipped.[16]

Michael’s next command took him back to Germany, where he served as AFN commander in Wiesbaden. Michael made it his priority to connect active-duty servicemen with their families and friends using the broadcast media he was so experienced with. Without the diligence of Wetzel and his team, thousands of soldiers deployed to Iraq might never have meaningfully communicated with their loved ones. Following this assignment in Germany, the US Army sent Michael back to the place he spent his formative years, Hawaii, in which he served as the Senior Public Affairs Coordinator. In this position, Michael oversaw every aspect of the Army’s public relations in Hawaii and was tasked with creating media for deploying troops.[15] By this time in his 23-year career, Michael achieved the rank of Master Sergeant, and decided that it was time to focus on his family and finally settle down after decades of constant movement throughout the world.

After his retirement from the Army in August of 2010, Michael and the Wetzel family moved to Denver, where he got a job for the Colorado Education Association (CEA) as Director of Public Relations, which he dedicated the next 10 years of his life towards.[17]  In his free time, Mike had always passionately supported the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Steelers, attending many games whenever he could get leave from his military duties. Once the Wetzel family settled in Denver, Mike and Erica frequently attended Avalanche, Rockies and Nuggets games. For the Wetzels, going to these games was an important act of family bonding in which they could come together and appreciate each other.

Mike and his daughter Marissa in March 2019.[18]

Michael Wetzel was uniquely talented in his ability to convey important information through audio and visual mediums, utilizing his skills and knowledge throughout his whole life. After a career defined by constant mobility, Mike Wetzel chose Denver as the place to raise his family and settle down, as he and Erica both recognized the city’s inherent beauty and promise for their children. The Master Sergeant was also able to commit himself to his wife and kids, as Mike was a loving father and family man that dedicated every moment outside of his career to them. Michael passed away on November 18, 2020. 

Footnotes ↓

[1] “Michael Louis Wetzel,” findagrave.com, August 12, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219015122/michael-louis-wetzel.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “AN ARMY TRANSFORMED: THE U.S. ARMY’S POST-VIETNAM RECOVERY AND THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGE IN MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS,” September, 2010, August 10, 2021, https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/2102.pdf.

[4] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” linkedin.com, August 8, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewetzelcolorado/.

[5] “Camp Humphreys,” US Army, August 8, 2021, https://www.army.mil/article/117803/welcome_to_camp_humphreys_south_korea.

[6] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” linkedin.com, August 8, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewetzelcolorado/; “American Armed Forces Network Europe,” August 12, 2021, https://www.afneurope.net/.

[7] “German Reunification,” Britannica, August 8, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-reunification-of-Germany.

[8] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” linkedin.com, August 8, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewetzelcolorado/.

[9] “About the US Army Psychological Operations Regiment,” US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School, August 17, 2021, https://www.soc.mil/SWCS/IMSO/aboutPSYOP.htm.

[10] Ibid.

[11] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” linkedin.com, August 8, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewetzelcolorado/.

[12] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219015122/michael-louis-wetzel.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.; “You Tell the Story, We Tell the World,” Department of Defense, August 12, 2021, https://www.dvidshub.net/;

[15] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” linkedin.com, August 8, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewetzelcolorado/.

[16] “Profile for Michael Wetzel,” facebook.com, August 13, 2021, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2131261860315939&set=t.100002964368696&type=3.

[17] Ibid.

[18] “Michael Wetzel Profile,” facebook.com, August 12, 2021, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1973883556053771&set=t.100002964368696&type=3.

More Stories