MAG-31
Command Biographies
VMFA(AW)-533 Commanding Officer
Lieutenant Colonel Neil H. Brubeck

Lieutenant Colonel Neil Brubeck is a native of Texas and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. in Oceanography.  He was commissioned in 2005 as a naval aviator.  Following designation as an FA-18 pilot, he was assigned to VMFA-122 where he deployed to the Western Pacific in support of the Unit Deployment Program and to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.  Following his tour with VMFA-122, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines as a Forward Air Controller and deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Upon completion of his Forward Air Controller tour, he reported for duty with VMFA-115 where he served as a maintenance officer-in-charge and as the Pilot Training Officer.  During this tour, he graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and the MAWTS-1 Weapons and Tactics Instructor course.  He deployed with VMFA-115 again to the Western Pacific and to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Following his tour with VMFA-115, he reported for duty as a TOPGUN instructor at NAS Fallon, Nevada.  During this tour, he served as the Navy and Marine Corps subject matter expert on close air support, armed reconnaissance, and strike coordination and armed reconnaissance.  He also filled the billets of Executive Officer for TOPGUN and senior Marine liaison for NAS Fallon and was NATOPS qualified in the FA-18EF Super Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Promoted to the rank of Major, he was assigned as a department head at VMFA-251 where he served as the Executive Officer and the Aircraft Maintenance Officer.  He deployed with VMFA-251 to the Western Pacific.  Upon return from deployment, he was reassigned to VMFA-312 as the Aircraft Maintenance Officer.  In March 2019, after promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, he was reassigned to Marine Aircraft Group 31 as the Executive Officer where he served until March 2020.

Lieutenant Colonel Brubeck has been awarded numerous personal and unit awards and has flown over 200 combat missions in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE.

Marine Aircraft Group 31