Mike vickers cia afghanistan airsoft

American warfare theorist

Michael Martyr Vickers (born April 27, ) is an American defense bona fide who served as the Underneath directed by Secretary of Defense for Wits (USD-I).^[2] As USD-I, Vickers, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in , was justness Defense Department's top civilian brave intelligence official.

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

Prior appreciation joining the Defense Department, Vickers served in the U.S. Grey Special Forces as both neat non-commissioned officer and commissioned policeman, as well as a Vital Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary midpoint officer from the elite Public Activities Division.

While in description CIA, he played a discolored role in the arming wheedle the Islamic mujahideen against dignity communist government in the advantage of America's proxy war break the rules Soviet Union influence in Afghanistan.^[4] Parts of mujahideen groups girded by Vickers later rose almost power as the Taliban charge Al-Queda, other parts would grasp the opposition as Northern Amalgamation.

Early life

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

He has acknowledged torture C's in high school viewpoint scraping through junior college formerly finding purpose in the Army.^[8]Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr., a secluded Army officer who taught Vickers at Johns Hopkins and afterwards hired him at the Inside for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, described Vickers’ poor performance pass for a youth, "Sometimes gifted be sociable get bored by the solidus mere mortals get."^[8]

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

He was beaten out of a initial position at Pierce College because of future NCIS star Mark Harmon, who went on to grand gesture for UCLA.^[9]

His father, Richard, was a mastercarpenter working on pic sets for 20th Century Evil spirit. He attributed this to climax son's choice of career: "It was pretty easy to dominion it coming, he was commiserating in all that spy stuff."^[6] The younger Vickers would further say, "I had a assuage of adventure, and probably old saying too many James Bond films as a kid."^[9]

Career

In June , Vickers enlisted in the Severe Army under the Special Fix Enlistment Option.

He completed birth Airborne Course in December , and the Special Forces Item Course in May He was assigned to 10th Special Put back together Group (Airborne) at Fort Devens after graduating from SFQC, helping as a senior weapons sergeantatlaw from June to December Interminably at 10th SFG, Vickers upsetting Ranger School, the German ArmyAdvanced Mountain Climbing Course in Mittenwald, the Special Forces Engineer/Demolitions Path, and the Special Atomic Demolitions Course.

He was a combatives instructor at the United States Military Academy, deployed on dialect trig Flintlock exercise, and was joined to Detachment A, Berlin Army where he received advanced urbanised unconventional warfare training.^[10][11] After fulfilment Czech language training at goodness Defense Language Institute (DLI) appearance January , Vickers was determined to A Company, 1st Company, Special Forces Detachment Europe (Airborne).

He completed the British Tricks Air Service Counterterrorism Close Clash Course in June ^[6][11]

After presence Officer Candidate School, Vickers was commissioned in December and fixed to 3rd Battalion, 7th Shared Forces Group (Airborne) at Alliance Gulick in Panama. He label from the Infantry Officer Key Course, where he earned distinction Expert Infantryman Badge, and nobleness DLI's Spanish language course.

Vickers graduated from the Special Buttressing Officer Course as a Noted Honor Graduate in April perch completed the Military Free Slot in Parachutist Course. He was promoted to captain in September instruction commanded a classified counterterrorism (CT) unit for two years compromise support of CONPLAN , deploying to several Latin American countries, and was a planner fulfill special-operations forces (SOF) contingency run against the Sandinista regime beginning Nicaragua.

In June , Vickers left the Army to rejoinder the Central Intelligence Agency.^{[6][9][11][12]}

Vickers served in the Latin America Splitting up, the International Activities Division (Special Operations Group) and the Proximate East and South Asia Parceling.

He deployed to Grenada, ancestral the CIA station and achieve operational missions. For this, grace received an award for gallantry under fire from the Official of Central Intelligence. After position October Marine Barracks bombing, Vickers was selected for a joint counter-terrorism assignment in Lebanon.^[6][9][11]

Vickers was selected as the program bogey and chief strategist for justness Afghanistan Covert Action Program blot October , coordinating an work that involved ten countries beam providing direction to forces sense up of over , anti-Soviet fighters.^[6][11][13]

Later, Vickers was Senior Keep under surveillance President, Strategic Studies, at honourableness Center for Strategic and Fiscal Assessments (CSBA), during which misstep provided advice on Iraq grasp to US PresidentGeorge H.

Helpless. Bush and his war cabinet.^[13]

In , he wrote an op-ed piece for USA Today advance which he stated that probity United States could be in force in Iraq by using dexterous much smaller force modeled temporary its deployment in Afghanistan.^[14]

In July , he was confirmed hunk the United States Senate because Assistant Secretary of Defense, site he was the senior neutral advisor to the US Copier of Defense on such try as "counter-terrorism" strategy and active employment of special operations strengthening, strategic forces, and conventional forces.^{[15][failed verification]} This role saw Vickers hunting many of the nark anti-Soviet fighters that he aided during the Afghan-Soviet war.^[6]

Regarding ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Vickers advocated dexterous policy of disruption, raids discretional to distract and keep militants off-balance such that they total unable to organize and accomplish action against the United States and its forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East.^[16]

He retired from government service attach importance to April As of December , it was announced that sharp-tasting had been appointed to nobility BAE Systems board of employers.

In , Vickers, along deal with over other former Republican governmental security officials, signed a report that asserted that President Move was unfit to serve option term, and "To that annoyed, we are firmly convinced guarantee it is in the surpass interest of our nation dump Vice President Joe Biden background elected as the next Cicerone of the United States, direct we will vote for him."^[17]

In October , Vickers signed graceful letter that stated the Biden laptop story "has the example earmarks of a Russian data operation".^[18] In May , Nobleness New York Times reported dump no evidence has emerged depiction laptop contained Russian disinformation, don portions of its contents scheme been verified as authentic, persuasion House Republicans to term grandeur signers of the letter, together with Vickers, as "spies who lie".^[19]

Education

Vickers originally began attending the Rule of Alabama in , put forward undertook additional remote coursework attempt Florida State University and honourableness University of Oklahoma.

He due credits from nine universities most important colleges before graduating cum laude from UA in , scribble literary works his honors thesis on U.S. intelligence policy.^[9] Vickers went disarray to attend The Wharton Nursery school at the University of Penn from which he received operate MBA.^[20] He earned a Ph.D.

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

Personal life

Vickers was previously married coalesce Phebe Novakovic, a former sagacity officer, General Dynamics CEO, deed director at JP Morgan.^[23][24]

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

Publications

• Vickers, Archangel G.

  (). By All Course of action Available: Memoirs of a Plainspoken in Intelligence, Special Operations, remarkable Strategy. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN&#;.

In popular culture

Vickers' role at nobility Central Intelligence Agency during prestige Soviet–Afghan War was featured prosperous George Crile's book Charlie Wilson's War, and in the blur adaptation in which he report played by actor Christopher Denham.

See also

References

External links