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. In 1982, he was deployed as an assistant battalion operations officer to Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the Multinational Force in Lebanon. 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. 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 in the 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 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. Decker was medically retired in 1991.
Post-government
Decker is the Director, Intelligence and Security Programs at Operational Intelligence, LLC . Earlier Decker served as the Director, Marine Forces Programs and a Senior International/Defense Research Analyst, at the RAND Corporation and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses.
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 p. 39-53
Maj Michael H. Decker, USMC and Sgt William Mackenzie, USMC, “Marine Corps Intelligence, the Interwar Years,” Marine Corps Gazette, Volume 103, Number 9 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; "Assessing the Intelligence Effort", Marine Corps Gazette; vol. 75, no. 9, p. 22
Decker, Michael H; "The MAGTF and Low-Intensity Conflict", Marine Corps Gazette; vol. 72, no. 3, 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
Decker, Michael H; "Three MAFs for the Corps", U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings; vol 113, p. 74
Decker, Michael H; Jeffries, James H, III; "Platoon - The Movie and Law of War Training", Marine Corps Gazette; vol. 71, no. 4, p. 40
Decker, Michael H; "On Women, Combat, and Leadership", Marine Corps Gazette; vol. 75, no. 10, p. 89
Decker, Mike; "The Long Run", Scholastic, Notre Dame, Indiana, vol. 121, no. 7 p 26
