William H. McRaven
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William McRaven
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| Birth name | William Harry McRaven |
| Born | November 6, 1955 Pinehurst, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
 United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1977–2014 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands held | U.S. Special Operations Command Joint Special Operations Command Special Operations Command Europe Naval Special Warfare Group 1 SEAL Team 3 |
| Battles/wars | Persian Gulf War • Operation Desert Shield • Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom • War in Afghanistan Iraq War Operation Neptune Spear |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3) Defense Superior Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal (2) |
William Harry McRaven (born November 6, 1955) is a former United States Navy admiral who last served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011, to August 28, 2014. He previously served from June 13, 2008, to August 2011 as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)[1] and from June 2006 to March 2008 as Commander, Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR).[1] In addition to his duties as COMSOCEUR, he was designated as the first director of the NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre (NSCC), where he was charged with enhancing the capabilities and inter-operability of all NATO Special Operations Forces. After retiring from the military, Admiral McRaven began his role as the next chancellor of The University of Texas System in January, 2015. McRaven is a 1977 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin.[2] He retired from the Navy on August 28, 2014, after more than 37 years of service.[3] He is the son of Anna Elizabeth (Long) and Col. Claude C. "Mac" McRaven, a Spitfire fighter pilot in World War II[4][5] who played briefly in the NFL.[6] McRaven attended the University of Texas at Austin on a track scholarship, and was a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.[7] McRaven holds a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, where he helped establish and was the first graduate from the Special operations/Low intensity conflict curriculum.
In 2012, McRaven—along with former First Lady Laura Bush, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and Hector Ruiz—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas.[8][9]
Contents
Career
Special operations
As a junior officer McRaven was assigned to SEAL Team 6 under the command of Richard Marcinko but was pushed out due to McRaven's concerns about a culture of recklessness, complaining of difficulties in keeping his sailors in line.[10] McRaven has commanded at every level within the special operations community, including assignments as deputy commander for operations at JSOC, Commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 1, Commander of SEAL Team 3, task group commander in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, task unit commander during the Persian Gulf War, squadron commander at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and SEAL platoon commander at Underwater Demolition Team 21/SEAL Team 4.
McRaven's thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School was titled "The Theory of Special Operations".
McRaven has also served as a staff officer with an interagency coordination focus, including as the director for Strategic Planning in the Office of Combating Terrorism on the National Security Council Staff, assessment director at U.S. Special Operations Command, on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and the chief of staff at Naval Special Warfare Group 1.
On April 6, 2011, McRaven was nominated by President Barack Obama for appointment to the rank of admiral and as the ninth Commander of USSOCOM,[11] of which JSOC is a component. In his confirmation hearings, McRaven "endorsed a steady manpower growth rate of 3% to 5% a year" and favored more resources for USSOCOM, including "additional drones and the construction of new special operations facilities."[12] After the Armed Services committee hearings, in late June, McRaven was confirmed unanimously by the Senate for his promotion to four-star admiral and as commander of USSOCOM[13] and took command August 8. The transfer ceremony was led by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Tampa, with Admiral Olson also in attendance, two days after the Wardak Province helicopter crash which cost 30 Americans, including 22 SEALs, their lives. With several hundred in attendance, Panetta spoke of sending "a strong message of American resolve [and] ... carry[ing] on the fight."[6]
Operation Neptune Spear
McRaven is credited for organizing and overseeing the execution of Operation Neptune Spear,[14] the special ops raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. CIA Director Leon Panetta delegated the raid to McRaven who has worked almost exclusively on counter-terrorism operations and strategy since 2001.[14]
According to the New York Times, "In February, Mr. Panetta called then-Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, commander of the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command, to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to give him details about the compound and to begin planning a military strike. Admiral McRaven, a veteran of the covert world who had written a book on American Special Operations, spent weeks working with the CIA on the operation, and came up with three options: a helicopter assault using U.S. Navy SEALs, a strike with B-2 bombers that would obliterate the compound, or a joint raid with Pakistani intelligence operatives who would be told about the mission hours before the launch."[15] The day before the assault, President Obama "took a break from rehearsing for the White House Correspondents Dinner that night to call Admiral McRaven, to wish him luck."[15] Years later, a June 2013 Freedom of Information request revealed that on May 13, 2011, McRaven sent email titled "OPSEC Guidance / Neptune Spear" that instructed redacted recipients that "all photos [of UBL's remains] should have been turned over to the CIA; if you still have them destroy them immediately" or "get them to" a recipient whose identity was redacted.[16][17]
In December 2011, McRaven was runner-up for Time Person of the Year for his role in the operation.[18]
Retirement
In June 2014, it was announced that Admiral McRaven had his request for retirement approved after a 37 year career.[19] Admiral McRaven retired from the Navy on 1 September 2014.
University of Texas Chancellor
Admiral McRaven was selected the lone finalist for the Chancellor of the University of Texas System on July 29, 2014.[20][21] McRaven began this role in January 2015 with a $1.2 million annual salary.[22]
Personal life
McRaven is married to Georgeann Brady McRaven.[23] They have three children.[24] McRaven attended the 2012 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner as the guest of his fifth grade classmate, Karen Tumulty.[25]
Awards and decorations
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Bibliography
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In Media
- Dirty Wars, a 2013 American documentary featuring McRaven revisiting the site and survivors of the Khataba raid to apologize.
- His 2014 commencement address for the University of Texas at Austin received over 3,100,000 views on YouTube.[26][27][28]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Navy document "Admiral William H. McRaven".
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- VADM William McRaven Biography collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of Joint Special Operations Command 2008–2011 |
Succeeded by Joseph Votel |
| Preceded by | Commander of United States Special Operations Command 2011–2014 |
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- Articles with dead external links from August 2012
- Use mdy dates from September 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the United States Navy
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Naval Postgraduate School alumni
- People from San Antonio, Texas
- Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
- Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
- United States Navy admirals
- United States Navy SEALs personnel
- United States Naval Special Warfare Command
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
