The Hon. Michael Vickers

Mike Vickers was Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (2011-2015) and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, Low Intensity Conflict and Interdependent Capabilities (2007-2011) – service that spanned the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.  He had a central role in developing our strategy and overseeing our campaigns to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qa’ida and in the operation to kill Usama Bin Ladin.  As a CIA Operations Officer during the 1980s, he was the program officer and principal strategist for the largest and most successful covert action program in CIA’s history, enabling the Afghan resistance to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. 

His memoirs, By All Means Available, covers these world-changing events and much more – from hostage rescue operations, the invasion of Grenada and the 1983 Beirut bombings, to our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our efforts to prevent Iran from getting the bomb, support the Syrian opposition, and counter Russian aggression in Ukraine. He provides a strategy for winning our new Cold War with China and Russia, and offers lessons learned from more than four decades of service in intelligence, special operations, and strategy.

Dr. Vickers began his career as a Green Beret and was one of the select few trained to parachute behind Soviet lines with a backpack nuclear weapon in the event of war with the Soviet Union.  As a Special Forces Officer, he commanded a special counterterrorism intelligence unit.

He is a recipient of the Presidential National Security Medal, our nation’s highest award in intelligence, and the OSS Society’s William J. Donovan Award.