Captain Max S. Lipeles is the Recruiting Officer of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 550 and an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is responsible for overseeing recruitment and retention of the Detachment’s Cadet Wing, which includes recruiting, educating, training, and developing officer candidates for the United States Air Force.
Captain Lipeles commissioned in 2016 from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 550 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor's of Science in Civil Engineering and a Minor in Psychology.
Prior to this assignment, Captain Lipeles was the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight Commander at JB Andrews, MD, leading 24 Airmen in safeguarding seven installations, five counties, Air Force One, and executing over half of all Air Force-tasked United States Secret Service Very Important Persons Protection Support Activity missions. He has two deployments bringing him to the Arabian Peninsula, East and West Africa.
Education
2016 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with Psychology minor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
2021 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
Assignments
- September 2016 - February 2019, Project Manager, JB Langley-Eustis, VA
- February 2019 - December 2019, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, FL
- December 2019 - July 2022, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight Commander, 316th Civil Engineering Squadron, JB Andrews, MD
- July 2022 - Present, Operations Flight Commander, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 550, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Major Awards and Decorations
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Effective Dates of Promotion
Second Lietenant -- July 25, 2016
First Lieutenant -- July 25, 2018
Captain -- July 25, 2020
(Information is current as of February 2024)