Lieutenant Colonel Carl Punzel enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1996. Upon receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona via the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Program and completing The Basic School, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel proceeded to the Navy Supply Corps School in February 2002 where he received his formal indoctrination as an Aviation Supply Officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Punzel reported to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 (MALS-12), Iwakuni, Japan, in July 2002 where he served in a variety of billets and deployed in support of several multi-national exercises throughout the PACOM AOR.
In June 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel executed orders to MALS-13, Yuma, Arizona, where he discharged his responsibilities as the squadron’s Aviation Supply Officer and deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Subsequent to graduation from the Naval Postgraduate School, he reported to Marine Corps Logistics Command, Albany, Georgia as a Logistics Management Analyst and deployed in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in 2009.
Lieutenant Colonel Punzel transferred to MALS-39 on Camp Pendleton in December 2011 where he served as the Aviation Supply Officer and Executive Officer. Following Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Lieutenant Colonel Punzel was assigned to Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region, United States Northern Command, as a Joint Planner.
Lieutenant Colonel Punzel assumed his current billet as the MALS-26 Commanding Officer in May 2018.