​​     Michael F. Dilley grew up as a Navy brat. He traveled to several States and overseas as his father was reassigned between sea-duty and shore-duty assignments. He graduated from St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii in May 1960. Hawaii had become a State the previous August and St. Louis was the first high school to conduct a graduation in Hawaii as a State. The Class of 1960 brags that it was "First in the 50th State." Michael attended a junior college in Oakland, California before entering the U.S. Army in September 1964. He graduated from Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri in September 1981 with a B.A., with a concentration in History.

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       Michael is a former paratrooper. He served as the Chief, Counterintelligence Section, 218th Military Intelligence Detachment (Airborne) of  the XVIII Airborne Corps and as a Counterintelligence Special Agent, 82nd Military Intelligence Company (Airborne) of the 82nd Airborne Division. He is a graduate of Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served in Viet Nam for two years. During his last 18 months in the 82nd Airborne Division, he helped develop SERE training for high risk personnel. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1984; most of his assignments were in intelligence specialties.

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     Following his retirement from the U.S. Army, Michael worked as a contractor with various Department of the Army and Department of Defense programs. He then worked as a civilian employee on the White House Military Staff and on the Department of Defense Staff. He was a private detective based in Wisconsin and, later, New Mexico. In his final position, Michael worked again as a Department of Defense contractor conducting specialized training for military and Defense Department civilians as well as other government and law enforcement organizations.

 

     Michael was a senior editor and staff writer for Behind The Lines magazine, specializing in military history articles mostly about World War II. He also reviewed books with special operations themes for Infantry and Behind The Lines magazines as well as many other publications. His first book, GALAHAD - A History of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was published by Merriam Press. His second book, co-written with Lance Q. Zedric, Elite Warriors - 300 Years of America's Best Fighting Troops, was published by Pathfinder Publishing. His third book, Interrogation Approaches, was written for a former  employer, Phoenix Consulting Group of Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a training course; his authorship is not attributed and the book is not commercially available.  Michael's fourth book, Behind The Lines - A Critical Survey of Special Operations in World War II, was published by Casemate Publishers and in the UK by Casemate UK. He contributed to two anthologies, Great Raids in History - From Drake to Desert One, published by Sarpedon Publishers and in the UK by Spelmount Ltd., and Wings of Glory (also co-written with Lance Q. Zedric), published by Faircount International. Elite Warriors and Great Raids in History were both selected by the Military Book Club. Great Raids in History has been published in a translated version in Poland. Michael has recently completed work on his most recent book, Rangers, Scouts, and Raiders, which is to be published in March 2023 in the UK and in May 2023 in the US.

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     Michael retired from full-time work in 2009 but continues to write and to conduct part-time research and teaching as well as other projects that attract his interest. He also edits and prepares indexes for other writers' books. Michael has spoken before several organizations and is available for speaking engagements. He will also assist veterans' organizations in fund raising activities. In his spare time he enjoys practicing magic and playing chess. He lives with his wife Sue in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

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