Michael H. Decker was the

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight, formerly the Senior Intelligence Oversight Official, or SIOO, was responsible to the U.S. Secretary of Defense for the independent oversight of all intelligence, counterintellige ...

. from September 2009 to February 2014. Before that he was Assistant Director of Intelligence,

Marine Corps Intelligence Marine Corps Intelligence is an element of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director of Intelligence supervises the Intelligence Department of HQMC and is responsible for policy, plans, programming, budgets, and staff supervision of ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He served as Director of Intelligence during Operation Iraqi Freedom II (OIF II) from January 2004 to June 2005.

Early life and education

Decker obtained his

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and later earned his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in government/national security studies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He also holds a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in Strategic intelligence from the

National Defense Intelligence College The National Intelligence University (NIU), formerly known as the Defense Intelligence School, the Defense Intelligence College, the Joint Military Intelligence College, and the National Defense Intelligence College is a federally chartered resea ...

Military career

Decker was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and served as an infantry platoon commander during operations to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. In 1982, he was deployed as an assistant battalion operations officer to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, as part of the

Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the confl ...

. After returning to the United States, Decker served as an infantry company commander and later as assistant operations officer for an expeditionary unit in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Reassigned to Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, Decker served as the Marine Corps Security Force/Marine Security Guard policy and program officer. Decker next served as an intelligence officer with a

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine expeditionary unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.Western Pacific and later as a Marine Expeditionary Force production/analysis officer in an all-source fusion center, where he co-ordinated all intelligence aspects of marine participation in Central Command theater contingency planning and exercises. Decker was deployed to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

as a senior intelligence analyst, supervising enemy order of battle analysis and co-ordinating political analysis and theater intelligence liaison for Marine Forces Central Command during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. Decker was medically retired in 1991.

Post-government

Decker is the Director, Intelligence and Security Programs at Operational Intelligence, LLC, an Avantus Federal company. Earlier Decker served as the Director, Marine Forces Programs and a Senior International/Defense Research Analyst, at the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

and a Senior Fellow at the

Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...

. Decker has served as a

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is a federasecurityand defense agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that reports to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.DCSA is the largest counterintellige ...

-approved Outside Director for SDL Government and as a Director for the

Intelligence and National Security Alliance The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community. History ...

(INSA). He has also served on the

AFCEA Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International (AFCEA), established in 1946, is a nonprofit membership association serving the military, government, industry, and academia as a forum for advancing professional knowledge and re ...

Intelligence Committee.

Awards and decorations

Decker's awards include: * NIDRib

National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal The National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (NIDSM) is a decoration awarded for service to the United States Intelligence Community. The decoration is awarded to any member or contributor to the National Intelligence Community, either c ...

Defense Intelligence Director's Award * Distinguished and Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards *

Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award The Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award is the second highest career award presented by the Department of Defense. It is presented for exceptionally noteworthy service of major significance to the Department of Defense as a who ...

Decker's military decorations include: * Bronze Star ribbon

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal ribbon

Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal

Personal life

Decker is married and has two sons. Decker is an adjunct associate professor in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.

Publications

* Michael H. Decker and William Mackenzie “The Birth and Early Years of Marine Corps Intelligence,” Marine Corps History, Volume 5, Number 2 (Winter 2020) p. 39-53 * Maj Michael H. Decker, USMC (Ret) and Sgt William Mackenzie, USMC (Ret), “Marine Corps Intelligence, the Interwar Years,” Marine Corps Gazette, Volume 103, Number 9 (September 2019) p. 10 * Cortney Weinbaum, John V. Parachini, Richard S. Girven, Michael H. Decker, Richard C. Baffa, "Perspectives and Opportunities in Intelligence for U.S. Leaders," RAND Corp, Document Number: PE-287-OSD, 2018 * George Nacouzi, J.D. Williams, Brian Dolan, Anne Stickells, David Luckey, Colin Ludwig, Jia Xu, Yuliya Shokh, Daniel M. Gerstein, Michael H. Decker, "Assessment of the Proliferation of Certain Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems," RAND Corporation, Document Number: RR-2369-JS, 2018 * Decker, Michael H
"USMC Intel: 1994-2008"
''MCIA Inc INTSUM''; autumn 2014; vol. XXVI, issue 1 * Decker, Michael H; "Assessing the Intelligence Effort", ''Marine Corps Gazette''; vol. 75, no. 9 (September 1991), p. 22 * Decker, Michael H; "The MAGTF and Low-Intensity Conflict", ''Marine Corps Gazette''; vol. 72, no. 3 (March 1988), p. 45 * Decker, Michael H; Batts, Christopher B.; "Marine Corps Counterintelligence Support to the Warfighter, Past, Present and Future", ''American Intelligence Journal''; vol. 20, no. 1&2 (winter 2000-2001) * Decker, Michael H; "Three MAFs for the Corps", ''U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings''; vol 113 (November 1987), p. 74 * Decker, Michael H; Jeffries, James H, III; "Platoon - The Movie and Law of War Training", ''Marine Corps Gazette''; vol. 71, no. 4 (April 1987), p. 40 * Decker, Michael H; "On Women, Combat, and Leadership", ''Marine Corps Gazett''e; vol. 75, no. 10 (October 1991), p. 89 * Decker, Mike; "The Long Run", ''Scholastic'', Notre Dame, Indiana, vol. 121, no. 7 (March 21, 1980) p 26 http://www.archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0121/VOL_0121_ISSUE_0007.pdf

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Michael H Living people United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense University of Notre Dame alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni National Intelligence University alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Obama administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) United States Marine Corps officers Recipients of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal