Since retiring from the Army, he has worked as a curator for the SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, a historian, a game designer and as a lecturer.
He has written 37 books, appeared in a number of television documentaries and served as technical advisor for several motion pictures.
He has written with or for several well-known figures, including Bill Fawcett, David Drake, Jesse Ventura, Harry Humphries, Dennis Chalker and several other SEALs.
After leaving the army, Dockery returned to Michigan where he received a BA degree in Communications from Oakland University in 1980 with a concentration on broadcast journalism.
Dockery lives in Ohio where he divides his time between writing, raising big dogs, and his hobbies which include scuba diving, blacksmithing, fencing, gunsmithing, and knife and sword making.