Michael Merritt serves as the Acquisition Director at the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division. He is responsible for workload planning, mission execution and collaboration with Government and Industry partners to effectively execute NAWCTSD mission tasking.

Michael Merritt was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1982. His first assignment was to the Air Force Institute of Technology MSEE Program. In 1984, he was assigned as an ICBM Test Manager at the Ballistic Missile Office. In 1989, Captain Merritt was assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Research, a DoD Joint Activity directly reporting to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Space. In 1994, Major Merritt was assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command in the Plans, Programs and Acquisition Management Directorate as Chief, Classified Technology Programs. In 1998, he was assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB. He served as a Systems Acquisition Manager within the C-17 Systems Program Office and as a Systems Management Directorate staff officer in the Systems Management Directorate. In 2000, Major Merritt joined the NAVAIR team as the CV-22 Deputy Program Manager. In July 2001, he was assigned as the Development Integrated Product Team (IPT) Lead for the USMC Variant of the V-22. As the MV-22 Development IPT Lead, Major Merritt was responsible for the acquisition management of the Way Forward development program to return the Marine Corps and Air Force tiltrotors to safe and operational use.

Retiring from active duty in 2002, Mr. Merritt continued to serve as the MV-22 Development IPT Lead as a Department of the Navy civilian. In 2006, Mr. Merritt was promoted to Program Director for Aviation (PDA) at NAWCTSD. PDA also serves as the Naval Air Systems Command, Deputy Program Manager for Aviation Training Systems (PMA-205TD). Mr. Merritt became the Program Director for Cross-Warfare in 2014 until his selection in January 2017 to join the NAWCTSD Leadership Team.

A native of Central Florida, Mr. Merritt earned a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Central Florida in 1982. He received his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1984. He is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College Advanced Program Management Course and completed the Leadership in a Democratic Society program at the Federal Executive Institute.