Major Karl L. Velasco-Lehmann was raised in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2015, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geographic Information Science, specializing in Remote Sensing. Upon commissioning as a Marine Corps officer, he completed The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, in March 2016.
Following initial flight training at VT-2 (Primary) and HT-18 (Advanced), he was assigned to Helicopter Marine Light Attack Training Squadron (HMLAT) 303, then to HMLA-367 in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. During his first 10 months with HMLA-367, he served in Operations and, after only six months, became the squadron's weekly writer while the unit supported deployments to Marine Rotation Forces - Darwin (MRF-D) and South Korea.
In the summer of 2019, he became the UH-1Y Naval Air Training and Operations Standardization (NATOPS) officer within the Department of Safety and Standardization (DOSS). He held this position during HMLA-367's participation in Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 5-19 and Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Blue Air exercises. Upon returning from California, he continued as the UH-1Y NATOPS officer, simultaneously preparing to become the Airframes Officer in Charge (OIC) for the HMLA-367 detachment supporting MRF-D 2020. When that deployment was canceled in April 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, he transitioned to the Tactics Department, where he led the development and standardization of the squadron's Marine Air-Ground Tablet (MAGTAB) Program. In September 2020, he received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his leadership in a MAG-24 Digital Interoperability Demonstration for the Secretary of Defense.
In the spring of 2021, Captain Velasco-Lehmann deployed to Darwin, Australia, with the H-1 Detachment to VMM-363 (Reinforced) as the Mission Planning Systems officer. His responsibilities included supervising the integration of MAGTAB and JMPS across all aircraft types in the squadron, as well as planning and integration with the Australian Defence Forces. As a pilot during the deployment, he earned Section Lead, Basic Instructor Pilot, and TERF Instructor Pilot designations and qualifications, accumulating over 100 mishap-free flight hours. He was then selected for transition to the MV-22 Osprey on the FY22 Transition/Conversion Board.
Upon returning from Australia in the fall of 2021, Captain Velasco-Lehmann reported to VMMT-204 to begin MV-22 training. He completed his Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS) curriculum, graduating as a Distinguished Graduate. In the summer of 2022, he reported to VMM-261, initially working in the S-4 (Logistics) section while awaiting a class date for the United States Navy School of Aviation Safety. Following the completion of the Aviation Safety Officer (ASO) course, he returned to MCAS New River and transitioned to the role of Assistant Aviation Maintenance Officer (AAMO) in January 2023, while concurrently completing the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) syllabus at VMMT-204.
As AAMO, Captain Velasco-Lehmann gained extensive experience in V-22 maintenance and manpower management, navigating two fleet-wide grounding bulletins, a Deployment for Training (DFT) to Service Level Training Exercise (SLTE) 23-1, and a combat deployment to Djibouti, Africa, as a pilot with VMM-261 Crisis Response-Africa (CRAF) 24.1. He flew 78 mishap-free flight hours, including 68 in combat, earning his Tiltrotor Aircraft Commander (TAC) designation and regaining his Basic Instructor Pilot and Functional Check Pilot qualifications in the MV-22B.
He promoted to the rank of Major in August 2024 and completed his tour as the Aviation Maintenance Officer (AMO) in May 2025 following a successful CNAF inspection that scored 90%. Continuing to excel in the MV-22, Major Velasco-Lehmann earned Low Altitude Tactics Instructor (LAT-I), Reduced Visibility Landing Instructor (RVLI), Air to Air Refueling Instructor (AARI), Division Lead, and Night Systems Instructor (NSI) certifications and designations.
Major Velasco-Lehmann currently serves as the Executive Officer of VMM-261.