Leadership of the United States Special Operations Command
This is a list of all commanders, deputy commanders, vice commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and chiefs of staff of the United States Special Operations Command. Note that articles in red text are yet to be created.
Current combatant command staff
Bryan P. Fenton, Commander 
Sean M. Farrell, Deputy Commander 
Guillaume Beaurpere, Chief of Staff 
Francisco Pena, Director, Personnel (J1)
James T. Blejski, Jr., Director, Intelligence (J2)[1]
Jeromy B. Williams, Director, Operations (J3)- Christopher L. Paone, Director, Logistics (J4)[2]
John A. Pelleriti (acting), Director, Strategy, Plans and Policy (J5)- Peter J. Tragakis, Director, Communications (J6)[2]
- Shawn R. Satterfield, Director, Joint SOF Force Development and Design (J7) (Provisional) and Deputy Commander for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs[3]
- Steven M. Marks, Director (J8)[4]
- Michael G. Dudas, Director, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (J10)
Francis L. Donovan, Vice Commander
List of leaders of the United States Special Operations Command
Commanders
| Commander of the United States Special Operations Command | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the United States Special Operations Command | |
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| United States Department of Defense | |
| Type | Unified combatant commander |
| Abbreviation | CDRUSSOCOM[5] |
| Reports to | President of the United States Secretary of Defense |
| Seat | MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, U.S. |
| Nominator | Secretary of Defense |
| Appointer | The president with Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | 2–3 years (approx.) |
| Constituting instrument | 10 U.S.C. § 167 |
| Formation | 16 April 1987 |
| First holder | Duane H. Cassidy |
| Deputy | Deputy Commander, United States Special Operations Command |
| No. | Commander | Term | Service branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
| 1 | General James J. Lindsay (1932–2023) | 16 April 1987 | 27 June 1990 | 3 years, 72 days |  U.S. Army | |
| 2 | General Carl Stiner (1936–2022) | 27 June 1990 | 20 May 1993 | 2 years, 327 days | U.S. Army | |
| 3 | General Wayne A. Downing (1940–2007) | 20 May 1993 | 29 February 1996 | 2 years, 285 days | U.S. Army | |
| 4 | General Hugh Shelton (born 1942) | 29 February 1996 | 25 September 1997 | 1 year, 209 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Rear Admiral Raymond C. Smith (1943–2022) Acting | 25 September 1997 | 5 November 1997 | 41 days |  U.S. Navy | |
| 5 | General Peter Schoomaker (born 1946) | 5 November 1997 | 27 October 2000 | 2 years, 357 days | U.S. Army | |
| 6 | General Charles R. Holland (born 1948) | 27 October 2000 | 2 September 2003 | 2 years, 310 days |  U.S. Air Force | |
| 7 | General Bryan D. Brown (born 1948) | 2 September 2003 | 9 July 2007 | 3 years, 310 days | U.S. Army | |
| 8 | Admiral Eric T. Olson (born 1952) | 9 July 2007 | 8 August 2011 | 4 years, 30 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 9 | Admiral William H. McRaven (born 1955) | 8 August 2011 | 28 August 2014 | 3 years, 20 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 10 | General Joseph Votel (born 1958) | 28 August 2014 | 30 March 2016 | 1 year, 215 days | U.S. Army | |
| 11 | General Raymond A. Thomas (born 1958) | 30 March 2016 | 29 March 2019 | 2 years, 364 days | U.S. Army | |
| 12 | General Richard D. Clarke (born 1962) | 29 March 2019 | 30 August 2022 | 3 years, 154 days | U.S. Army | |
| 13 | General Bryan P. Fenton (born 1965) | 30 August 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 352 days | U.S. Army | |
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Deputy commanders
| No. | Deputy Commander | Term | Service branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
| 1 | Lieutenant General Harry A. Goodall | 16 April 1987 | May 1988 | ~1 year, 29 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 2 | Major General Hugh L. Cox III | May 1988 | July 1990 | ~2 years, 61 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 3 | Major General Donald Snyder | July 1990 | May 1991 | ~304 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 4 | Major General Thomas E. Eggers | June 1991 | July 1993 | ~2 years, 30 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 5 | Rear Admiral Irve C. Le Moyne (1940–1997) | July 1993 | May 1996 | ~2 years, 305 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 6 | Major General James C. McCombs | May 1996 | 1997 | ~1 year, 46 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 7 | Rear Admiral Raymond C. Smith (1943–2022) | 1997 | 2001 | ~4 years, 0 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Bryan D. Brown | 2002 | 2003 | ~1 year, 0 days | U.S. Army | |
| 9 | Vice Admiral Eric T. Olson (born 1952) | 2003 | July 2007 | ~4 years, 15 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General Francis H. Kearney III | July 2007 | ~April 2010 | ~2 years, 274 days | U.S. Army | |
| 11 | Lieutenant General David P. Fridovich | ~April 2010 | December 2011 | ~1 year, 244 days | U.S. Army | |
| 12 | Lieutenant General John F. Mulholland Jr. (born 1955) | August 2012 | July 2014 | ~1 year, 334 days | U.S. Army | |
| 13 | Vice Admiral Sean A. Pybus (born 1957) | July 2014 | July 2016 | ~2 years, 0 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General Joseph Osterman (born 1960) | July 2016 | 15 October 2018 | ~2 years, 92 days |  U.S. Marine Corps | |
| 15 | Vice Admiral Timothy Szymanski (born 1962) | 15 October 2018 | 16 December 2021 | 3 years, 62 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 16 | Vice Admiral Collin P. Green (born 1962) | 16 December 2021 | 20 January 2024 | 2 years, 35 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 17 | Lieutenant General Sean M. Farrell | 27 March 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 143 days | U.S. Air Force | |
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Vice commanders
| No. | Deputy Commander | Term | Service branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
| 1 | Lieutenant General Eric E. Fiel | 11 June 2010 | 19 July 2011 | 1 year, 38 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General Bradley A. Heithold | 19 July 2011 | 16 June 2014 | 2 years, 332 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 3 | Lieutenant General Thomas J. Trask | 16 June 2014 | 2 August 2017 | 3 years, 47 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 4 | Lieutenant General Scott A. Howell (born 1965) | 2 August 2017 | 29 July 2018 | 361 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 5 | Lieutenant General James C. Slife (born 1967) | 29 July 2018 | June 2019 | ~321 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Tony D. Bauernfeind | 31 June 2020 | 9 December 2022 | 2 years, 162 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 7 | Lieutenant General Francis L. Donovan | ~15 December 2022 | Incumbent | ~2 years, 245 days | U.S. Marine Corps | |
Senior enlisted leaders
| No. | Senior enlisted leader | Term | Service branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
| 1 | Command Master Chief Rudolph E. Boesch (1928–2019) | April 1987 | April 1990 | ~3 years, 0 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 2 | Chief Master Sergeant Michael I. Lampe (born 1949) | April 1991 | 1997 | ~6 years, 0 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 3 | Command Sergeant Major Melvin L. Wick | 1997 | August 2000 | ~3 years, 134 days | U.S. Army | |
| 4 | Command Master Chief Richard M. Rogers | August 2000 | 27 August 2003 | ~2 years, 364 days | U.S. Navy | |
| 5 | Command Chief Master Sergeant Robert V. Martens Jr. | 27 August 2003 | 23 January 2006 | 2 years, 149 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 6 | Command Sergeant Major Thomas H. Smith | 23 January 2006 | 27 September 2011 | 5 years, 247 days | U.S. Army | |
| 7 | Command Sergeant Major James C. Faris | 27 September 2011 | 15 October 2014 | 3 years, 18 days | U.S. Army | |
| 8 | Command Sergeant Major William F. Thetford | 15 October 2014 | 7 July 2016 | 1 year, 266 days | U.S. Army | |
| 9 | Command Sergeant Major Patrick L. McCauley | 7 July 2016 | 11 July 2019 | 3 years, 4 days | U.S. Army | |
| 10 | Command Chief Master Sergeant Gregory A. Smith | 11 July 2019 | 4 August 2022 | 3 years, 24 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| 11 | Command Sergeant Major Shane W. Shorter | 4 August 2022 | Incumbent | 3 years, 13 days | U.S. Army | |
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Chiefs of staff
| No. | Chief of Staff | Term | Service branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
| 1 | Major General Joseph Lutz (1933–1999) | April 1987 | June 1990 | ~3 years, 72 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Brigadier General Gary W. Heckman | December 1997 | August 1998 | ~243 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| - | Major General Dell L. Dailey (born 1949) | August 1998 | 2000 | ~1 year, 317 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Major General Joseph Votel (born 1958) | ~3 May 2010 | May 2011 | ~1 year, 12 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Major General Mark A. Clark | May 2011 | August 2012 | ~1 year, 92 days | U.S. Marine Corps | |
| - | Major General James B. Laster | August 2012 | 2014 | ~1 year, 319 days | U.S. Marine Corps | |
| - | Major General Walter Lee Miller Jr. | ~2014 | ~October 2015 | ~1 year, 107 days | U.S. Marine Corps | |
| - | Major General J. Marcus Hicks | October 2015 | June 2017 | ~1 year, 243 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| - | Major General James C. Slife (born 1967) | June 2017 | June 2018 | ~1 year, 0 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| - | Major General James B. Linder | July 2018 | July 2019 | ~1 year, 0 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Major General Tony D. Bauernfeind | July 2019 | August 2020 | ~1 year, 31 days | U.S. Air Force | |
| - | Rear Admiral Collin P. Green (born 1962) | 15 October 2020 | September 2021 | ~335 days | U.S. Navy | |
| - | Major General Marcus S. Evans (born 1970) | September 2021 | August 2023 | ~1 year, 334 days | U.S. Army | |
| - | Rear Admiral Milton Sands III | 31 July 2023 | July 2024 | ~336 days | U.S. Navy | |
| - | Major General Guillaume Beaurpere | July 2024 | Incumbent | ~1 year, 47 days | U.S. Army | |
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See also
- United States Special Operations Command
- Leadership of the United States Africa Command
- Leadership of the United States European Command
- Leadership of the United States Indo-Pacific Command
- Leadership of the United States Northern Command
- Leadership of the United States Space Command
- Leadership of the United States Cyber Command
- Leadership of the United States Strategic Command
- Leadership of the United States Transportation Command
References
- ^ "Brigadier General James T. Blejski, Jr. (USA)". www.gomo.army.mil.
- ^ a b https://www.socom.mil/FactBook/2023%20Fact%20Book.pdf
- ^ "National Guard Biography". www.nationalguard.mil.
- ^ "Major General Steven M. Marks - General Officer Management Office". www.gomo.army.mil.
- ^ "DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, January 2021" (PDF). jcs.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2021.