Lieutenant Colonel Amy E. Punzel
Commanding Officer Headquarters and Support Battalion, SOI-East
Lieutenant Colonel Amy Punzel, formerly Malugani, is from Jefferson, Ohio. Upon receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona in Dec 2000, she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant via the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. After completing The Basic School in Jul 2001, she received her formal training as a Public Affairs Officer, at the Defense Information School.
Lieutenant Colonel Punzel reported to Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Smedley D. Butler in Oct 2001, where she served in a variety of Public Affairs billets with III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) deploying to South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines in support of multi-national exercises.
In Nov 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel executed orders to 1st Force Service Support Group where she served as the media officer for I MEF/MCB Camp Pendleton Consolidated Public Affairs Office. She deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) Jul 2004, serving as the Public Affairs Officer for 1st FSSG and Regimental Combat Team 7. In Jun 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel transferred to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and deployed in again in support of OIF.
In Jul 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel executed orders to Division of Public Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) where she served as a media officer in direct support of the Commandant of Marine Corps, Assistant Commandant of Marine Corps, and the Deputy Commandants. Subsequently, she served as an Aide de Camp to the Director of Marine Corps Staff.
Lieutenant Colonel Punzel completed a graduate degree at San Diego State University in May 2011, via the Special Education Program and proceeded to Marine Corps Installations West to serve as the Director, Public Affairs.
In Aug 2014, she transferred to the Office of Marine Corps Communication (OMCC), HQMC where she served as a planner and advocate for the Communication Strategy & Operations (CommStrat) occupational field, before executing orders to Marine Corps Combat Development Command to serve as the Director, CommStrat in direct support of the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, Training and Education Command, and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.