Michael Edward Marks (born November 5, 1960) is an American author noted for his work in counterterrorism, special operations and counter illicit traffic, most recently including co-authorship of "Understanding Narrative: The Battle of the Narrative and the Operations Process" published by the U.S. Army

Asymmetric Warfare Group The Asymmetric Warfare Group (often shortened to "AWG") was a United States Army special mission unit created during the War on Terrorism to mitigate various threats with regard to asymmetric warfare. The unit was headquartered at Fort George G. ...

in 2014, drawn from his work for US Special Operations throughout Afghanistan in 2011-2012. Prior to this effort, Mr. Marks was responsible for mapping illicit traffic patterns across the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Central Asia and the Balkans in support of US Special Operations and the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization ( JIEDDO). Books, interactive programs and simulators developed by Mr. Marks have been incorporated into state-mandatory certification programs in 27 states, with adoptions by such entities as the US Army/FBI Hazardous Devices School, the FBI National Academy and throughout numerous federal and state-level law enforcement and intelligence agencies. These titles include ''The Emergency Responder's Guide to Terrorism''. He is credited with design of "Task Force Marks", a USMC expeditionary unit sniper team exercise for the TacOps simulation created by Maj. I.L. Holdridge and subsequently licensed to USMC, Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces. Mr. Marks served for twelve years as an adjunct professor on WMD at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Department of Forensic Science and developed the training/testing modules used by the American Board of Certification in Homeland Security for levels CHS I-III. In addition to his technical work, Mr. Marks wrote the bestselling military science fiction novel Dominant Species (novel) which provides a depiction of Marines in powered armor. He is a critically acclaimed poet and songwriter best known for his patriotic writings in support of America's Armed Forces. Named the Poet Laureate of the Society of the

9th Infantry Division (United States) The 9th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Old Reliables") is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army. It was formed as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas. In later years it was an important unit of the ...

(SONID), Marks' work hangs in the

Titan Missile Museum The Titan Missile Museum, also known as Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 or as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is a former ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) site located about south of Tucson, Arizona in the United States. It was constructed ...

Sahuarita, Arizona Sahuarita is a town in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and abuts the north end of Green Valley, Arizona, Green Valley, south of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The 202 ...

and has been featured in numerous books, magazines and newspapers around the world, to include

Stars and Stripes (newspaper) ''Stars and Stripes'' is a daily American military newspaper reporting on matters concerning the members of the United States Armed Forces and their communities, with an emphasis on those serving outside the United States. It operates from insi ...

and

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

. and appears on the International War Veteran's Poetry Archive. In 2007, Marks teamed with award-winning country music artist

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...

to create the hit country single adaptation of "A Soldier's Christmas" after the poem met with longstanding ovations in Murphey's national Cowboy Christmas tour, leading to a national release. Marks' works have been professionally produced by on-air personalities such as Thom Richards, WOKO Radio and air annually on radio stations across the United States. In 2009, Chicago radio celebrity Paul Brian teamed with Joe Cantafio to produce a musical performance of "A Soldier's Christmas" to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project in their support of injured soldiers and their families. Several of these poems have been termed modern Christmas classics that have been incorporated into school plays and public presentations around the country.

References

External links

International War Veteran's Poetry Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Michael E. 1960 births Living people American male poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers