Mark W. Merritt belongs to a very special club whose members love working in secret operations - the best job they ever had! He has worked in the field of special operations for more than 15 years. Working with the Joint Special Operations, intelligence, and counterintelligence communities as well as operations with the US Army, he is skilled in counterintelligence; intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination; mission planning; covered programs; intelligence photography; data communications and intelligence software systems and applications. Alternative Careers in Secret Operations is based upon his experience in working in this field.

Mark is not at liberty to discuss specific missions or operations relating to his active duty work with United States Naval Special Warfare other than to say they are classified and of extreme national significance. His classified work with special missions and operations has involved work in Europe and Central/South America on various counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism missions. On several assignments he served as the sole supporting intelligence officer providing intelligence vital to mission success. He has played an active part in planning and executing projects for the National Command Authority.

Since leaving the military, Mark has worked for three civilian employers: ORION Scientific, Inc, an international consulting firm which designs special operations/low-intensity conflict research and automated support for clients such as Defense Intelligence Agency, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Energy, Secret Service, International Association of Chiefs of Police and all branches of the Department of Defense; Sterling Software, Inc. where he provided analytical support, training, and training documentation to the Defense Intelligence Threat Data System and served as a "Tactical Asset" to theater commanders when deployed to hostile and semi-hostile environments to support utilization and training of the TRRIP system in Croatia, Turkey, and the European theater; and TRW where he provides Open Source Intelligence support to AirGlow as a Senior Information Officer for the Analysis and Study Group.

A graduate of the State University of New York (B.A., History) and St. Lawrence University (M.A., Counseling and Human Development), Mark is a member of several professional intelligence associations and holds a second degree Black Belt in Korean Tae Kwon Do. He is an avid mountaineer, skydiver, skier, archer, scuba diver, and holds an international pilot's license for paragliding. He resides in Reston, Virginia.