Colonel David J. Mollahan, president of Marion Military Institute, will be speaking at the American Legion Building on Highway 80 in Selma Thursday, February 11 at 6 p.m.

Col. Mollahan will also be accompanied by Col. John Gibler a decorated Vietnam veteran as they speak about Marion Military Institute and what the future holds for Alabama’s only Military College.

Mollahan became the 16th president of Marion Military Institute in August 2009.

He has served at the U.S. Naval Academy as Division Director, Humanities and Social Sciences Division, and as the senior Marine Corps Representative until retiring in July 2009 after completing a 30-year Marine Corps career.

He was commissioned in June 1979 upon graduation from Oregon State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology.

He later earned a Master of Military Studies degree from Marine Corps Command and Staff College where he graduated as a Distinguished Graduate. Colonel Mollahan also attended the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, the Joint Forces Staff College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Security Studies Program as the Commandant of the Marine Corps Fellow.

Colonel Mollahan’s military career has included multiple land and sea-based deployments to Okinawa, Korea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.

He has participated in contingency and combat operations in Liberia, Somalia, the Adriatic Sea, Kosovo, and Iraq.

His assignments have included Commanding Officer, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (reinforced); Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Joint Forces Command; Chief of Staff, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing; and Commanding Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 26 (reinforced).

His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Bronze Numeral 4, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, (8) Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and various other unit awards and decorations.

He has also accumulated more than 4,100 mishap free flight hours as a Marine naval aviator, including over 250 combat flight hours.