Michael Lee Lanning (born September 18, 1946) is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel[1] and the author of military non-fiction.

[4] Upon graduation from Texas A&M in 1968, Lanning was commissioned a second lieutenant and received infantry, airborne, and ranger training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Lanning is the author or co-author of 30 non-fiction books on military history, sports, and health.

More than a million copies of his books are in print in fifteen countries, and editions have been translated into eleven languages.

He has appeared on major television networks and the History Channel as an expert on the individual soldier on both sides of the Vietnam War.