Michael Schellhammer is an expert in counterintelligence,insider risk, anti-terrorism and facility vulnerability. With over 35 years of experience in the US Army and Department ofDefense, he has led intelligence, counterintelligence, anti- terrorism and protection units around the world.
Michael was a Distinguished Military Graduate from the ROTC program at Mercyhurst College (now Mercyhurst University) in Erie, Pennsylvania. He later led an intelligence operations section in the First Persian Gulf War and in the 1994 intervention in Haiti. Deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996 with the 1st United Kingdom (UK) Armored Division, Michael had the honor to be selected by UK leaders to command a civil -military information center. Michael served with US Special Operations forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He led counterintelligence and human intelligence operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom again in 2006 and through the 2007 “Surge” of combat operations. Michael led an anti – terrorism detachment at the American Embassy, Cyprus, and a counterintelligence field office in Southern California. In each of these assignments, Michael conceived, organized, and supervised complex operations against active adversaries in demanding environments, all in cooperation with US Government agencies and international partners and allies.
Most recently, Michael served as the Senior Representative for Counterterrorism at the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security, where he built and fostered relationships with intelligence, law enforcement, and security agencies across the US Government to protect against skilled and dedicated adversaries.
Michael is the author of George Washington and the Final British Campaign for the Hudson River, 1779 (McFarland & Company, 2012), The 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, (McFarland, 2003), and over 35 articles in publications including the Foundation for Defense of Democracies(co-author with Heather McMahon), theJournal of the American Revolution, Mount Vernon’s Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington , Washington Post, Army War College War Room, Washington Times, Army Times, and Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin.
He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, a National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) Award for Insider Threat mitigation and holds a Master of Strategic Studies from the US Army War College.