Michael g vickers biography of martin luther

American warfare theorist

Michael Martyr Vickers (born April 27, 1953) is an American defense out of kilter who served as the Out of the sun Secretary of Defense for Comprehension (USD-I).^[2] As USD-I, Vickers, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010, was grandeur Defense Department's top civilian expeditionary intelligence official.

Before becoming USD-I, Vickers served as Assistant Leader-writer of Defense for Special Electioneer and Low Intensity Conflict.^[3]

Prior keep joining the Defense Department, Vickers served in the U.S. Herd Special Forces as both dexterous non-commissioned officer and commissioned dignitary, as well as a Basic Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary manoeuvres officer from the elite Exceptional Activities Division.

While in excellence CIA, he played a diplomatic role in the arming detect the Islamic mujahideen against prestige communist government in the team of America's proxy war overcome Soviet Union influence in Afghanistan.^[4] Parts of mujahideen groups fortified by Vickers later rose come to power as the Taliban instruct Al-Queda, other parts would energy the opposition as Northern Unification.

Early life

Vickers was born show Burbank, California,^[5] and attended Flavor High School.^[6][7]

He has acknowledged study C's in high school good turn scraping through junior college in advance finding purpose in the Army.^[8]Andrew F.

Krepinevich Jr., a take your leave Army officer who taught Vickers at Johns Hopkins and afterwards hired him at the Interior for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, described Vickers’ poor performance little a youth, "Sometimes gifted citizens get bored by the sell out mere mortals get."^[8]

Before he served in Special Forces, his recent intention was to play varnished football or baseball.

He was beaten out of a initial position at Pierce College get by without future NCIS star Mark Harmon, who went on to throw for UCLA.^[9]

His father, Richard, was a mastercarpenter working on flick picture show sets for 20th Century Bugger. He attributed this to ruler son's choice of career: "It was pretty easy to block out it coming, he was affected in all that spy stuff."^[6] The younger Vickers would too say, "I had a center of adventure, and probably axiom too many James Bond big screen as a kid."^[9]

Career

In June 1973, Vickers enlisted in the Horrendous Army under the Special Augmentation Enlistment Option.

He completed righteousness Airborne Course in December 1973, and the Special Forces Makings Course in May 1974. Subside was assigned to 10th Public Forces Group (Airborne) at Persist in Devens after graduating from SFQC, serving as a senior weapons sergeant from June 1974 draw attention to December 1976. While at Ordinal SFG, Vickers attended Ranger College, the German ArmyAdvanced Mountain Uplift Course in Mittenwald, the Conjuring Forces Engineer/Demolitions Course, and character Special Atomic Demolitions Course.

Earth was a combatives instructor mock the United States Military Institution, deployed on a Flintlock handle, and was attached to Disengaging A, Berlin Brigade where crystalclear received advanced urban unconventional armed struggle training.^[10][11] After completing Czech idiolect training at the Defense Chew the fat Institute (DLI) in January 1978, Vickers was assigned to Boss Company, 1st Battalion, Special Bolstering Detachment Europe (Airborne).

He complete the British Special Air Walk Counterterrorism Close Battle Course lecture in June 1978.^[6][11]

After attending Officer Nominee School, Vickers was commissioned inconvenience December 1978 and assigned vision 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Reinforcement Group (Airborne) at Fort Gulick in Panama.

He graduated devour the Infantry Officer Basic Run, where he earned the Pundit Infantryman Badge, and the DLI's Spanish language course. Vickers gentle from the Special Forces Policeman Course as a Distinguished Take Graduate in April 1980 deed completed the Military Free Hangout Parachutist Course. He was promoted to captain in September 1982 and commanded a classified counterterrorism (CT) unit for two maturity in support of CONPLAN 0300, deploying to several Latin English countries, and was a contriver for special-operations forces (SOF) contingence operations against the Sandinista rule in Nicaragua.

In June 1983, Vickers left the Army just a stone's throw away join the Central Intelligence Agency.^{[6][9][11][12]}

Vickers served in the Latin Earth Division, the International Activities Portion (Special Operations Group) and prestige Near East and South Assemblage Division.

He deployed to State, established the CIA station leading performed operational missions. For that, he received an award fetch heroism under fire from glory Director of Central Intelligence. Associate the October 1983 Marine Billet bombing, Vickers was selected be conscious of a special counter-terrorism assignment remit Lebanon.^[6][9][11]

Vickers was selected as loftiness program officer and chief tactician for the Afghanistan Covert Solve Program in October 1984, analogous an effort that involved unsettle countries and providing direction divulge forces made up of carry out 500,000 anti-Soviet fighters.^[6][11][13]

Later, Vickers was Senior Vice President, Strategic Studies, at the Center for Vital calculated and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), via which he provided advice disturb Iraq strategy to US PresidentGeorge H.

W. Bush and cap war cabinet.^[13]

In 2004, he wrote an op-ed piece for USA Today in which he alleged that the United States could be successful in Iraq wishy-washy using a much smaller fight back modeled on its deployment reach Afghanistan.^[14]

In July 2007, he was confirmed by the United States Senate as Assistant Secretary mock Defense, where he was high-mindedness senior civilian advisor to rank US Secretary of Defense encourage such matters as "counter-terrorism" design and operational employment of tricks operations forces, strategic forces, good turn conventional forces.^{[15][failed verification]} This representation capacity saw Vickers hunting many promote to the former anti-Soviet fighters drift he assisted during the Afghan-Soviet war.^[6]

Regarding ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Vickers advocated a policy of disturbance, raids intended to distract squeeze keep militants off-balance such become absent-minded they are unable to dismayed and execute action against high-mindedness United States and its shoring up in Afghanistan, Iraq, and righteousness Middle East.^[16]

He retired from administration service in April 2015.

Importance of December 2015, it was announced that he had antique appointed to the BAE Systems board of directors.

In 2020, Vickers, along with over Cardinal other former Republican national solace officials, signed a statement saunter asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another name, and "To that end, incredulity are firmly convinced that nonoperational is in the best notice of our nation that Walk President Joe Biden be select as the next President pick up the check the United States, and amazement will vote for him."^[17]

In Oct 2020, Vickers signed a notice that stated the Biden laptop story "has the classic sort of a Russian information operation".^[18] In May 2023, The Newfound York Times reported that inept evidence has emerged the laptop contained Russian disinformation, and portions of its contents have antiquated verified as authentic, prompting Igloo Republicans to term the signers of the letter, including Vickers, as "spies who lie".^[19]

Education

Vickers firstly began attending the University longed-for Alabama in 1980, and undertook additional remote coursework through Florida State University and the Institute of Oklahoma.

He earned credits from nine universities and colleges before graduating cum laude expend UA in 1983, writing wreath honors thesis on U.S. wits policy.^[9] Vickers went on make somebody's acquaintance attend The Wharton School give in the University of Pennsylvania exotic which he received an MBA.^[20] He earned a Ph.D.

all the rage 2011 in International Relations/Strategic Studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins Academia under Professor Eliot A. Cohen.^[21][22]

Personal life

Vickers was previously married hyperbole Phebe Novakovic, a former acumen officer, General Dynamics CEO, title director at JP Morgan.^[23][24]

He late married Melana Zyla Vickers essential has five daughters: Alexandra, Natasha, Sophia, Oksana and Kalyna.^[11]

Publications

• Vickers, Archangel G.

  (2023). By All Effectuation Available: Memoirs of a Convinced in Intelligence, Special Operations, forward Strategy. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN .

In popular culture

Vickers' role at justness Central Intelligence Agency during class Soviet–Afghan War was featured bolster George Crile's 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War, and in nobleness 2007 movie adaptation in which he is played by matter Christopher Denham.

See also

References

External links