Not only does Colin Kilrain have a decorated military career, he also has a decorated wrestling career to go with it. He was a three-time All-American for Lehigh University, placing third at the NCAA tournament from 1980 - 1982. Kilrain also won four EIWA titles, the first coming as a true freshman in 1978 at the 167-pound weight class. He won again in 1980 and 1981—both at 177 pounds—before capping his senior season with the 190 pound EIWA title for the Engineers.

Kilrain is currently serving as the assistant commanding officer at the Joint Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a Rear Admiral.

Kilrain is a career Naval Special Warfare (NSW) SEAL officer with multiple Joint Special Operation duty assignments. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, Kilrain was commissioned in 1985. He completed Basic Underwater SEAL training in 1986.

He has participated in special operations in Asia, Europe, Latin American, and Africa. Operational Tours in Naval Special Warfare include: SEAL Team Three; the Personal Exchange Program (PEP) with the German Navy Kampfschwimmer Kompanie (SEALS) in Eckernfoerde, Germany; Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU); Commander, Special Operations Command in Panama as the maritime operations officer; executive officer of Naval Special Warfare Unit Two in Stuttgart, Germany; Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group Two as the task unit commander; and special operations adviser on board USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).

His staff assignments include duty as operations officer for State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism; Joint Special Operations Command, as deputy commander of the Joint Reconnaissance Task Force; executive office of the President at the White House, where he served on the National Security Council as the director of Strategy and Policy for the Office of Combating Terrorism; and the senior defense officer at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico.

Kilrain has deployed on contingency or named operations to Central and South America, the Horn of Africa, the Caribbean, the Balkans, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He has worked extensively with international partners in enhancing security cooperation relationships and capabilities.

Kilrain holds a Master of Science degree in National Resources Strategy and Management from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), and is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute where he studied German and Spanish.