page_title: William H. McRaven
section_title: Special operations
hierarchical_section_title: William H. McRaven / Career / Special operations
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran, speaks with William McRaven, University of Texas System Chancellor and Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command at a reception following his keynote address. Secretary Kerry delivered the keynote address at the LBJ Presidential Library's Vietnam War Summit on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. Kerry, a former U.S. senator and co-founder of Vietnam Veterans of America, gained national attention after speaking out publicly against the Vietnam War returning from two tours of duty. Kerry's speech was part of the LBJ Library's three-day Vietnam War Summit.
context_page_description: William Harry McRaven is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011, to August 28, 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he was the chancellor of The University of Texas System.
  McRaven previously served from June 13, 2008, to August 2011 as commander of Joint Special Operations Command and from June 2006 to March 2008 as commander of Special Operations Command Europe. In addition to his duties as COMSOCEUR, he was designated as the first director of the NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre, where he was charged with enhancing the capabilities and inter-operability of all NATO Special Operations Forces. McRaven retired from the U.S. Navy on August 28, 2014, after more than 37 years of service.
context_section_description: After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, McRaven was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and volunteered for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S). After six months of training, McRaven graduated BUD/S class 95 in January 1978. As a Navy SEAL officer, McRaven was deployed to the Philippines. In 1982, as a junior officer, McRaven was assigned to SEAL Team Six under the command of CDR Richard Marcinko but was removed one year later due to McRaven's concerns about military discipline, and difficulties in keeping his sailors in line. Richard Marcinko fired the 27-year-old McRaven in 1983. "He was a bright guy, but he didn't like my rude and crude way," Marcinko said. "If I was a loose cannon, he was too rigid. He took the special out of special warfare." McRaven later returned as a squadron commander at Naval Special Warfare Development Group.
  McRaven served numerous staff and command assignments within the special operations community, including platoon commander at Underwater Demolition Team 21/SEAL Team Four, Executive Officer of SEAL Team ONE, task unit commander during the Persian Gulf War, task group commander in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, commanding officer of SEAL Team THREE, deputy commander for operations at JSOC, commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare Group ONE from 1999 to 2001. 
  McRaven earned his Master of Arts degree at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, in 1993. McRaven's thesis was titled "The Theory of Special Operations" (republished in 1995 as Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice).
  McRaven later 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.
  McRaven was the deputy to General Stanley A. McChrystal, and later leader, of a battle group targeting Al Qaeda in Iraq called 'Task Force 714' which proved to be innovative and highly successful.
  On April 6, 2011, McRaven was nominated by President Barack Obama for promotion from the rank of vice admiral to admiral and appointed as the ninth commander of USSOCOM, 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. After the Armed Services committee hearings, in late June, McRaven was confirmed unanimously by the Senate for his promotion to full Admiral and assignment as commander of USSOCOM and took command August 8. The transfer ceremony was led by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Tampa, with ADM Eric T. 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".
caption: (L-R) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaks with William McRaven, at a reception at the LBJ Presidential Library, in the background, at center, is Carmel Fenves, wife of University of Texas at Austin president Greg Fenves
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