Admiral William McRaven Autographed Photo
Commando Units were developed and used during World War II on a limited basis, but it was not until the 1950’s and 1960’s that the elite units such as the Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs were formed. These, along with other special operations units, are used for unconventional warfare missions, often low-profile operations that require speed and surprise that can only be accomplished with a small group of highly trained personnel. While these type forces were used regularly since their inception, their demand can to the forefront in the post-9/11 era. The current national security strategy relies on special operations extensively. To understand the importance placed on special operations, one only need look at their budget, which more than quadrupled between 2001 and 2012.
In 1987, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was created to provide unified combatant command of the various Special Operations components of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. It is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and has the distinction of being the only Unified Combatant Command that was legislated into being by the U.S. Congress.
The Commander of USSOCOM between August 2011 and August 2014 was Admiral William Harry McRaven. Admiral McRaven was born 6 November 1955 at Pinehurst, North Carolina, but moved as a young child to San Antonio, Texas. He was always drawn to the sea, and even began scuba diving at the age of 13. After graduating High School, he went to college on a track scholarship at the University of Texas in Austin. While in school he joined the Navy ROTC program.
After obtaining his degree, he joined the Navy, and decided to pursue a career in the Navy SEALs. As a Lieutenant, he was assigned to command a squad in SEAL Team 6, but ended up being relieved due to a clash in leadership styles with the team’s controversial commander, Richard Marcinko. After being reassigned to SEAL Team 4 as the Platoon Commander, he was able to prove his abilities and begin climbing the ranks of command. With the Reagan administration’s major expansion of military forces, he was provided opportunities to continue to advance his military career.
During the Persian Gulf War, he was the task unit commander on Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. From there he was assigned as a task group commander in the U.S Central Command, and later returned to the SEALs as commander of SEAL Team Three.
While in the service, he continued his education, and earned a Master’s Degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His master’s thesis, The Theory of Special Operations, was so highly considered that it ended up being published, and has been reprinted multiple times and translated in several languages.
He continued his career in progressively more responsible positions within the Special Operations community. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC, he served as Deputy National Security Advisor and director of strategic planning in the NSC’s Office of Combating Terrorism. He as the principal author of the 2006 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism.
In 2006 he was selected to lead the Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) in Stuttgart, Germany. While in Germany, he simultaneously served as the first director of NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Center.
Upon completion of this assignment, he became Commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). While in this role, he spent appreciable time in Afghanistan, where he oversaw hundreds of raids on terrorist targets. In early 2011, then CIA Director Leon Panetta asked McRaven to prepare plans for an attack on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, at which it was believed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was hiding. At about this same time, Admiral McRaven was promoted to four-star admiral and nominated to serve as commander of USSOCOM, which would put him in position to lead the entire special operations community.
As for the plan to attack on the suspected bin Laden compound, due to concerns about the Pakistan government and military being able to maintain operational security, Admiral McRaven proposed a SEAL operation that would delay the chance of discovery until the last possible moment. Upon approval of his plan, Operation Neptune Spear was initiated on the night of 1 May 2011. Admiral McRaven, who was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, maintained a secure video link with the White House and provided updates to the President as the operation progressed. Within 15 minutes of the helicopters landing at the compound, the SEALs had overcome all resistance and Osama bin Laden had been killed.
Admiral McRaven's appointment as commander of USSOCOM was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and he assumed command on 8 August 2011, and continued in that role until 28 August 2014.
After serving 37 years with the Navy, Admiral McRaven retired in 2014, accepted the position as Chancellor of the University of Texas system, and settled in Austin. He has also authored the New York Times Bestselling book, “Make Your Bed, Little Things That Can Change Your Life… and Maybe the World”.
The item in my collection is a photograph that I mailed to Admiral McRaven, and which he was kind enough to sign and return. It is inscribed, “To Maksim Blair, Best Wishes, Bill McRaven”.
In 1987, the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was created to provide unified combatant command of the various Special Operations components of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. It is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and has the distinction of being the only Unified Combatant Command that was legislated into being by the U.S. Congress.
The Commander of USSOCOM between August 2011 and August 2014 was Admiral William Harry McRaven. Admiral McRaven was born 6 November 1955 at Pinehurst, North Carolina, but moved as a young child to San Antonio, Texas. He was always drawn to the sea, and even began scuba diving at the age of 13. After graduating High School, he went to college on a track scholarship at the University of Texas in Austin. While in school he joined the Navy ROTC program.
After obtaining his degree, he joined the Navy, and decided to pursue a career in the Navy SEALs. As a Lieutenant, he was assigned to command a squad in SEAL Team 6, but ended up being relieved due to a clash in leadership styles with the team’s controversial commander, Richard Marcinko. After being reassigned to SEAL Team 4 as the Platoon Commander, he was able to prove his abilities and begin climbing the ranks of command. With the Reagan administration’s major expansion of military forces, he was provided opportunities to continue to advance his military career.
During the Persian Gulf War, he was the task unit commander on Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. From there he was assigned as a task group commander in the U.S Central Command, and later returned to the SEALs as commander of SEAL Team Three.
While in the service, he continued his education, and earned a Master’s Degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His master’s thesis, The Theory of Special Operations, was so highly considered that it ended up being published, and has been reprinted multiple times and translated in several languages.
He continued his career in progressively more responsible positions within the Special Operations community. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC, he served as Deputy National Security Advisor and director of strategic planning in the NSC’s Office of Combating Terrorism. He as the principal author of the 2006 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism.
In 2006 he was selected to lead the Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) in Stuttgart, Germany. While in Germany, he simultaneously served as the first director of NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Center.
Upon completion of this assignment, he became Commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). While in this role, he spent appreciable time in Afghanistan, where he oversaw hundreds of raids on terrorist targets. In early 2011, then CIA Director Leon Panetta asked McRaven to prepare plans for an attack on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, at which it was believed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was hiding. At about this same time, Admiral McRaven was promoted to four-star admiral and nominated to serve as commander of USSOCOM, which would put him in position to lead the entire special operations community.
As for the plan to attack on the suspected bin Laden compound, due to concerns about the Pakistan government and military being able to maintain operational security, Admiral McRaven proposed a SEAL operation that would delay the chance of discovery until the last possible moment. Upon approval of his plan, Operation Neptune Spear was initiated on the night of 1 May 2011. Admiral McRaven, who was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, maintained a secure video link with the White House and provided updates to the President as the operation progressed. Within 15 minutes of the helicopters landing at the compound, the SEALs had overcome all resistance and Osama bin Laden had been killed.
Admiral McRaven's appointment as commander of USSOCOM was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and he assumed command on 8 August 2011, and continued in that role until 28 August 2014.
After serving 37 years with the Navy, Admiral McRaven retired in 2014, accepted the position as Chancellor of the University of Texas system, and settled in Austin. He has also authored the New York Times Bestselling book, “Make Your Bed, Little Things That Can Change Your Life… and Maybe the World”.
The item in my collection is a photograph that I mailed to Admiral McRaven, and which he was kind enough to sign and return. It is inscribed, “To Maksim Blair, Best Wishes, Bill McRaven”.