Lieutenant Colonel Travis Grell was born and raised in Bellville, Texas and commissioned via the Naval ROTC program at the University of Texas at Austin in May 2007. He completed Basic Officer Course 5-07 in Quantico, Virginia, Primary flight training and Advanced Helicopter training at NAS Whiting Field, Florida and winged as a Naval Aviator in February 2010.
Lieutenant Colonel Grell reported to MCAS Camp Pendleton, California and completed replacement aircrew training in the AH-1W Super Cobra at HMLAT-303 before reporting to HMLA-469 “Vengeance” in September 2010. He served in various squadron billets including Airframes Division Officer, Aviation Safety Officer, and Pilot Training Officer, and graduated from the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course in 2013. He deployed in 2011 with HMM-262 (REIN) on the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting Operation Tomadachi tsunami relief, in 2012 to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and in 2014 to the western Pacific on the Unit Deployment Program.
In 2015 Lieutenant Colonel Grell attended Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia, and was selected to join Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) as an Executive Flight Detachment pilot flying the VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters. He was designated a Marine One aircraft commander and supported Presidential travel to more than thirty locations worldwide.
In July 2020, Lieutenant Colonel Grell reported to Marine Aircraft Group 41 at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas, initially performing duties as Group Director of Safety and Standardization and Assistant Operations Officer before assuming the billet of Operations Officer. In that role, he was responsible for the training and readiness of half the Marines and aircraft of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
He reported to Camp Mujuk, Republic of Korea in June 2023, serving as the Executive Officer and Operations Officer of the Marine Corps’ only installation on the Korean Peninsula.
In July 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Grell reported to MATSG-22, initially performing the role of Operations Officer before assuming his present billet as Executive Officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Grell’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (3), Air Medal Individual Action with combat “V” and Strike/Flight numeral 5, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He has more than 2,000 mishap-free flight hours in Marine Corps helicopters and is authorized to wear the Presidential Service Badge.