Master Sgt. Mike Wittrien is the bassist with Max Impact. Originally from Newton, New Jersey, his career in the Air Force began in 2016 as a member of the Air Force Band of the West at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland before joining The United States Air Force Band in 2018.
During his Air Force career, Sgt. Wittrien has supported the organization with two deployments: Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018 and again as NCOIC of the AFCENT Band in 2021 where he and the team were directly involved in aiding the withdrawal from Afghanistan, known as Operation Allies Refuge. Tours throughout the AOR have allowed him to perform in Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Djibouti, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Stateside, Sgt. Wittrien serves as Max Impact’s noncommissioned officer in charge of Flight Operations, managing the band’s touring logistics. Previously, he served as the ensemble’s music director from 2019-2021.
Before joining the Air Force, Sgt. Wittrien spent 11 years in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he held the bass chair at the American Music Theatre, a celebrity concert venue, and maintained a busy freelance performance schedule on the east coast.
A graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Sgt. Wittrien received a Bachelor of Music degree in recording technology. He has studied with Jim Miller, Ron Thomas, Rufus Reid, Anthony Wellington, Nick Browne and Jim Kalson.