Michael Z. Williamson is retired from the US military, having served twenty_five years in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. He was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Desert Fox. When not engaged in fixing stuff broken by infantrymen and air crews, he also served as armorer, weapons courier, hazardous materials NCO and material control NCO. Williamson is a state_ranked competitive shooter in combat rifle and combat pistol. He has consulted on military matters, weapons and disaster preparedness for Discovery Channel and Outdoor Channel productions and is Editor_at_Large for Survivalblog, with 300,000 weekly readers. In addition, Williamson tests and reviews firearms and gear for manufacturers. Williamsons books set in his Freehold Universe include Freehold, Better to Beg Forgiveness, Do Unto Others, and When Diplomacy Fails. He is also the author of The Hero_written in collaboration with New York Times best_selling author John Ringo. Williamson was born in England, raised in Liverpool and Toronto, Canada, and now resides in Indianapolis with his wife and two children.