Chad Malmberg
Owner/Instructor
Captain Chad Malmberg, USA, Ret. is the highest decorated soldier in the Minnesota Army National Guard (MNARNG) since World War II. Chad has over 20 years of combined experience in the United States Army (USA) and MNARNG. Chad is a former licensed Saint Paul Police Officer, from 2009 – 2021. During his service to the City of Saint Paul, Chad was assigned to the department’s training unit for five years and served as a Saint Paul S.W.A.T. operator for nine years. In addition to working patrol for the majority of his law enforcement career, Chad held the position of master taser instructor, lead use of force instructor, firearms instructor, and field training officer.
Chad’s military service began as a U.S. Army paratrooper at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he represented the 82nd Airborne Division as a boxer. Chad was the first level 4, master Army combatives instructor in the MNARNG and has trained more than one thousand soldiers in the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP). Chad served as both a competitor and head coach of the MNARNG Combatives Competition Team. Under his leadership, the MNARNG Team won several National titles and fought against some of the most elite military personnel in the world. Chad volunteered for a deployment to Iraq in 2005, where he served as an infantry squad leader and convoy commander. Chad led soldiers in more than 20 firefights during his tour spanning 22 months. In 2007 Governor Tim Pawlenty awarded Chad the Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This distinction makes him the highest decorated soldier in the MNARNG since World War II.
After commissioning as an Army officer in 2009, Chad served as an infantry platoon leader, executive officer, and reconnaissance platoon leader. Chad completed a 2-year assignment as company commander of a mechanized infantry unit in a combined arms battalion. During his command, Chad was responsible for training and leading more than 200 soldiers in preparation for combat operations around the world. Prior to his military retirement in 2018, Chad supervised and mentored a platoon of Army officer candidates at the Regional Training Institute at Camp Ripley, MN.
Chad’s military experience, leadership skills and martial arts knowledge greatly contributed to the success of the Saint Paul Police Department’s academy training, and in-service training programs. During Chad’s employment with the City of Saint Paul he played a key role in revolutionizing the department’s response to resistance and aggression (defensive tactics) program. The positive influence of these training programs has been well documented and replicated by various law enforcement agencies throughout the State of Minnesota and beyond.
Chad is a lifelong combat sports athlete and mixed martial artist. He has considerable competition experience, under various rule sets, over a period of more than two decades. Chad has represented the Saint Paul Police Department as the co-main event at the annual Unite and Fight boxing exhibition two years in a row. Chad currently holds the rank of purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Pedro Sauer Black Belt, Tom Schmitz.
