Nur Omar Mohamed, the father of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, served as a colonel in the Somali National Army under dictator Siad Barre's regime from at least the late 1970s until its collapse in 1991. This is confirmed by multiple sources, including a 2020 obituary in the Somali diaspora outlet Sahan Journal, which described his "climb in the military hierarchy" and praised his role as an "esteemed senior officer."
Colleagues, such as fellow colonel Yusuf Ismail Faraton, noted that Mohamed "played a significant role" in the 1977-1978 Ogaden War against Ethiopia and later conflicts like the 1982 Somali-Ethiopian border skirmishes.
He also trained teachers, blending military and educational roles under Barre's Marxist-Leninist system, which emphasized political indoctrination.