Major General Michael Schweiger

Major General Michael Schweiger, United States Army Reserve (Retired), of Rogersville, Missouri, passed away at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, on 27 September 2026 after a lengthy battle with an extremely rare form of prostate cancer. He was surrounded by family and maintained his sense of humor until the end. He was 71 years old.

General Schweiger was born in Monett, Missouri on 28 April 1955. He was the eldest son, and the second of five children born to Miles and Lucille (Johanns) Schweiger. When he was 5 years old the family moved back to Iowa and ran the old family farm. When he was in 8th grade the family returned to Mount Vernon where they owned and operated the Ranch Motel.

While in Mount Vernon High School, General Schweiger was the student body president and co-captain of the track team. His specialty was the open half mile and two mile relay. During his senior year he began a deep and lasting relationship with Sheila Hill. They graduated from Mount Vernon High School in May 1973. On 2 July 1973 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Attending West Point was the canon event that shaped his life. Interestingly, he never applied to West Point. The West Point recruiter told him that when he took the tests for the other military academies, all he had to do was ask that the test scores be sent to West Point. In the spring of 1973, he received a letter from West Point stating he had been accepted. The next day he received a call from Senator Tom Eagleton’s office stating they had been talking with West Point and were giving him a special nomination. And that was how he got into West Point. He never wrote a letter; Never interviewed with a congressman. Accepted, then nominated. Completely the reverse of the normal process. Many years later he learned there was one obstacle to his admission to West Point. It was his high school guidance counselor who refused to submit his records to West Point because “he didn’t have what it would take.” West Point then contacted his parents who intervened to ensure his records were sent to West Point admissions.

He graduated from West Point Class of 1977 on 8 June 1977. On the 18th of June he and Sheila Hill were united in a military wedding in Mount Vernon. From this union came two daughters and five grandchildren.

First tour of duty was in West Germany. He was a mechanized infantry rifle platoon leader, an anti-tank platoon leader and the support platoon leader. As the support platoon leader, he got his first hands-on experience in military logistics. The next assignment was at Fort Devens, Massachusetts where he was the team leader of a Special Forces A-Team (aka Green Beret). Although the team specialty was combat diving, the team spent most of their time in the ocean in Klepper Folding Kayaks. Not bad for someone who had the West Point swimming classification of an intermediate rock! He always said that if he could, he would have remained a Green Beret for the remainder of his career.

In 1983, upon completing a Master of Public Administration degree via night school he decided a major career change was necessary. So, he resigned his active army commission and moved his family to Southern California where he began a civilian career in aerospace. Here he worked with a small group utilizing high power microwaves to blow up land mines. This morphed into a lengthy R&D career utilizing high power radio frequency waves for use in lethal and non-lethal systems. As a program manager he led the team that built the proof of principal concept demonstrator of the Active Denial System, a long range non-lethal system designed to cause intense pain. It was during this period he co-authored a US Patent on Coherent Near-Field Array.

Shortly after beginning his civilian career a neighbor’s dad convinced him to join the Army Reserve, specializing in military logistics. Eventually, he was promoted to brigadier general Army Reserve and assigned as the Wartime J-4 (Joint Logistics Officer) for all of US Forces Korea. He then served a year on active duty in Kuwait as a military logistician supporting the operations in Iraq and the middle east. After his Kuwait tour, he was promoted to major general and assigned again to Korea, this time as the Wartime Chief of Staff of 8th US Army. His final assignment as a major general was at Moffett Field where he was in charge of one quarter of the Army Reserve’s base operations, human resources, and logistics support. In his 36 years of commissioned service, he was fortunate to spend 10 years on duty as a one and two star general officer. He felt much of his success was due to taking on hard tasks outside his comfort zone.

His one disappointment was he could never be a military aviator. He started taking flying lessons at 15 years old and soloed when he was 16 years old. Then he found out he needed glasses, which effectively blocked his opportunity to become a military aviator.

After 40 years in uniform, it was back to Missouri for retirement and to help out with both sets of parents. They built their forever home around Sheila’s quilting room - and a workshop! 

His greatest joy was family time. Additionally, he enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson Road King and the times spent traveling in their class A motor home. Many great memories were generated when they were the RV support team for his brothers, sisters and spouses and cousin for the bicycle ride across Iowa, aka RAGBRAI. As baseball fans they visited 23 of the 30 major league baseball parks before prostate cancer treatments curtailed travel.

He and Sheila also enjoyed ocean cruising. Their last cruise of the Baltics was the most memorable. Upon returning to St Petersburg from a sanctioned guided tour to Moscow he was detained by Russian customs, taken to a small back room, and interrogated for entering Russia illegally. He credits his special forces training for de-escalating a potential diplomatic incident and his eventual release.

He enjoyed intellectual challenges, especially the time in his workshop being a maker and hacker, whether it was metalworking, wood working, mechanical or electronic. He taught all his grandchildren to weld by making horseshoe art such as flamingos and pumpkins. He even taught his little sister Suzy to weld, guiding her in making a horseshoe armadillo.

Although not a fan of organized religion he was a firm believer and practitioner of Christian values. He loved the family pets, was an avid reader of history, and had a great sense of humor. He said his only skill was his ability to ride a unicycle. Almost every day he was in conversation with his Band of Brothers.

General Schweiger was preceded in death by his father Miles. His is survived by his mother, Lucille Schweiger, of Mount Vernon, Missouri; his wife of 49 years Sheila; his daughter Tara and Dr. Scott Glenny of Eastvale, California and their children James, Andrew and Kathryn; and his daughter Jeri and her husband Steve Haag of Lebanon, Tennessee and their children Dax and Amelia. Additionally, he is survived by his sister Nancy and her husband Kevin Hyland of Branson, Missouri; his brother Jack and his wife Janet Schweiger of Ackworth, Georgia; his sister Suzy and her husband Larry Morgan of Springfield, Missouri; and his brother Dr Gary and his wife, Dr Lyla Schweiger of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 14th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. followed by a memorial service the next morning, October 15th, 10:00 a.m. at Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mount Vernon, Missouri. Immediately following funeral services, burial with military honors will be conducted at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.

In lieu of flowers, General Schweiger would appreciate a contribution through the funeral home to the USO (United Services Organization).

Online condolences may be shared at www.FossettMosherFuneralHome.com.