William Harry McRaven (born November 6, 1955) is a retiredUnited States Navy four-staradmiral who served as the ninth commander of theUnited States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he was thechancellor ofThe University of Texas System.
McRaven served from June 13, 2008 to August 2011 as commander ofJoint Special Operations Command (JSOC)[1] and from June 2006 to March 2008 as commander ofSpecial Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR).[1] In addition to his duties as COMSOCEUR, he was designated as the first director of theNATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Center (NSCC), 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 September 1, 2014, after more than 37 years of service.[2]
McRaven was reportedly considered by PresidentJoe Biden for appointment asSecretary of Defense[3] before Biden nominatedLloyd Austin.
McRaven was born inPinehurst, North Carolina. He is the son of Anna Elizabeth (Long) and Col.Claude C. McRaven, aSpitfire fighter pilot in World War II[4][5] who played briefly in theNFL,[6][7] and has two older sisters. His father, a career Air Force officer, was stationed atPope Air Force Base, now known as Pope Field and part ofFort Bragg. His family moved to Texas while he was in elementary school and settled inSan Antonio. McRaven attendedTheodore Roosevelt High School where he took part in track.[8]
McRaven attended theUniversity of Texas at Austin where he was a walk-on member of the track team, and was a member of theNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor's degree injournalism,[9] and was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2012.[10][11] McRaven holds a master's degree from theNaval Postgraduate School, where he helped establish and was the first graduate from theSpecial operations/Low intensity conflict curriculum.
After graduating from TheUniversity of Texas at Austin, McRaven was commissioned as an officer (Ensign) in theU.S. Navy and volunteered forBasic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S). After six months of training, McRaven graduated withBUD/S class 95 in January 1978. Following completion of a six-month probationary period, he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear theSpecial Warfare insignia. As aNavy SEAL officer, McRaven was deployed to the Philippines with Naval Special Warfare Unit One in 1979 and 1981.[12][13] In 1982, as a junior officer, McRaven received assignment toSEAL Team Six in Dam Neck, Virginia under the command of CDRRichard Marcinko and completed a specialized selection and training course. McRaven served as assault team leader of blue squadron but was relieved of duty in 1983 due to McRaven's concerns about military discipline, and difficulties in keeping his sailors in line at the command.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."[14] McRaven was transferred to another east coast based SEAL team.
McRaven served numerous staff and command assignments within the special operations community, including platoon commander at Underwater Demolition Team 21/SEAL Team Four, squadron commander at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, executive officer of SEAL Team ONE, task unit commander during thePersian Gulf War, task group commander in theCENTCOM area of responsibility, commanding officer ofSEAL Team THREE from 1994 to 1996, deputy commander for operations at JSOC, commanding officer ofNaval Special Warfare Group ONE from 1999 to 2001.[15] In early 2001 McRaven suffered a brokenpelvis in a parachute accident during a training exercise.[16][17] McRaven earned aMaster of Arts degree at theNaval Postgraduate School in 1993. McRaven's thesis was titled "The Theory of Special Operations" (republished in 1995 asSpec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice).[18][19]
McRaven later served as a staff officer with an interagency coordination concentration, including as the director for Strategic Planning in the Office of Combating Terrorism on theNational 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 GeneralStanley A. McChrystal and later leader of a battle group targetingAl Qaeda in Iraq called 'Task Force 714', which proved to be innovative and highly successful.[20] After McRaven took command of JSOC in 2008 he was prompted to request that a unit be stood up to deal with engaging female Afghans on different special operations in Afghanistan. These teams would be called Cultural Support Teams, or CSTs.[21][22]
On April 6, 2011, McRaven was nominated by PresidentBarack Obama for promotion from the rank ofvice admiral toadmiral and appointed as the ninth commander of USSOCOM,[23] 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 theArmed Services committee hearings, in late June, McRaven was confirmed unanimously by theSenate for his promotion to fullAdmiral and assignment as commander of USSOCOM[24] and took command August 8. The transfer ceremony was led bySecretary of DefenseLeon Panetta in Tampa, with ADMEric T. Olson also in attendance, two days afterthe 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]
McRaven is credited for organizing and overseeing the execution ofOperation Neptune Spear,[25] the special ops raid that led to the killing ofOsama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. CIA DirectorLeon Panetta delegated operational and execution decisions on the raid to McRaven, who had worked almost exclusively on counter-terrorism operations and strategy since 2001.[25]
According toThe New York Times, "In February, Mr. Panetta called then-Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, commander of the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command, toCIA headquarters inLangley, Virginia, to give him details about bin Laden's compound inAbbottabad, Pakistan, 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 withB-2 bombers that would obliterate the compound, or a joint raid withPakistani intelligence operatives who would be told about the mission hours before the launch." The day before the assault,President Obama "took a break from rehearsing for theWhite House Correspondents Dinner that night to call Admiral McRaven, to wish him luck".[26]
A June 2013Freedom of Information request revealed that on May 13, 2011, McRaven sent an email titled "OPSEC Guidance / Neptune Spear" that instructed redacted recipients that "all photos [ofUBL'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.[27][28]
In December 2011, McRaven was runner-up forTime Person of the Year for his role in the operation.[29]
In June 2014, it was announced that Admiral McRaven had his request for retirement approved after a 37-year career.[30] Admiral McRaven retired from the U.S. Navy on September 1, 2014. During the last few years of his career he was also Bull Frog, the longest serving Navy SEAL still on duty, having succeeded his SOCOM predecessorEric T. Olson in the title.[31][32]
Admiral McRaven was selected aschancellor of theUniversity of Texas System in July 2014. He was appointed on January 5, 2015.[33][34]
In 2016, the Trump campaign transition team considered McRaven as a potential candidate forNational Security Adviser.[35]
As chancellor, McRaven approved the $215 million purchase of 300 acres for a new campus in south Houston. Boosters for a potentially competing institution, the University of Houston, criticized the proposed UT expansion "almost immediately after the system announced the land deal." Some state legislators also criticized McRaven for the purchase because he didn't tell them about it beforehand. A portion of the land had previously been contaminated by a chemical facility. In early 2017, McRaven recommended that the UT Board of Regents approve a plan to sell the land and back out of the expansion, which he revealed would have included a data science center.[36]
On May 31, 2018, McRaven stepped down from his position as chancellor of the university,[37] due to chronic health issues and a desire to spend more time with his family.[38]
McRaven joined the board of the multinationalConocoPhillips, effective October 2018.[39]
In 2022, McRaven joined the board ofPalantir Technologies.[40]
"Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency."
In August 2018, McRaven expressed support for formerCIA DirectorJohn O. Brennan, whosesecurity clearance had recently been revoked by theTrump administration. He authored anopen letter to PresidentDonald Trump inThe Washington Post entitled "Revoke my security clearance, too, Mr. President", in which he affirmed his regard for Brennan, his former colleague, and offered criticism of the decisions and personal behavior of President Trump.[41] McRaven said of Brennan, "He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question ... except by those who don't know him." Of Trump, McRaven wrote, "Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."[42]
In a November 18, 2018, interview onFox News,Chris Wallace mentioned McRaven's name. Trump called McRaven a "Hillary Clinton fan" and accused McRaven of being a fan of former PresidentBarack Obama. McRaven later toldCNN, "I did not back Hillary Clinton or anyone else. I am a fan of President Obama and PresidentGeorge W. Bush, both of whom I worked for. I admire all presidents, regardless of their political party, who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times."[43] One media source noted that Trump's ire seemed to be rooted in "McRaven's criticism that the president's rhetoric toward the press is the 'greatest threat to democracy' in his lifetime".[44]
On October 17, 2019, McRaven published anop-ed inThe New York Times with the headline "Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President", arguing that if Trump did not demonstrate leadership, he was to be replaced. He elaborated his position in a CNN interview the same day, saying that Trump was undermining domestic institutions and damaging America's international standing, especially with respect to the treatment of the Kurds during the2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.[45]
Upon the February 2020 dismissal by the president ofJoseph Maguire for having briefed congressional intelligence committee members about emerging evidence of foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, McRaven authored a guest editorial inThe Washington Post in which he declared that, "As Americans, we should be frightened — deeply afraid for the future of the nation. When good men and women can't speak the truth, when facts are inconvenient, when integrity and character no longer matter, when presidential ego and self-preservation are more important than national security — then there is nothing left to stop the triumph of evil."[46]
Admiral William McRaven emphasized the global necessity for U.S. leadership, highlighting concerns among allies about potential U.S. withdrawal from international affairs if former President Trump is reelected. McRaven stressed the importance of maintaining strong alliances globally to ensure effective global leadership, referencing Winston Churchill's sentiment on the value of alliances.[47]
McRaven is the son of a career Air Force officer.[48] McRaven married Georgeann Brady, then a fellow undergraduate at theUniversity of Texas at Austin, in 1978.[49][50] They have three children.[51]McRaven attended the 2012White House Correspondents' Association Dinner as the guest of hisfifth grade classmate,Karen Tumulty.[52] McRaven was approached by the centrist groupNo Labels as a potential candidate for the2024 presidential election.[53]
In a comprehensive interview, Admiral William McRaven discussed the importance of sustained U.S. leadership on the global stage, particularly as the 2024 election approaches with concerns over potential isolationist policies. He noted the challenges in military recruitment exacerbated by the pandemic but expressed optimism about future improvements. McRaven emphasized the necessity of continued U.S. support for Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict, highlighting the strategic and humanitarian reasons for backing. He also addressed the situation in Gaza, advocating for balanced U.S. guidance to minimize civilian casualties while managing regional conflicts effectively.[47]
Later, in July 2024, McRaven was reportedly considered by theKamala Harris campaign as a potential running mate.[54] After initially saying that "any discussions between the campaign and myself must remain confidential", McRaven put out a statement requesting that he be taken out of consideration.[55]
McRaven and his wife are the members of the board of theSpecial Operations Warrior Foundation.[56]
In March 2024, McRaven was granted $50-millionCourage and Civility Award byJeff Bezos and his fiancéeLauren Sánchez in recognition of his services to the community.[57] He said he would use the gift to focus on educating the children of deceased veterans, the mental health performance of veterans, and educating the future military leaders.[58]
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| Naval Special Warfare insignia | |||||
| Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ two bronzeoak leaf clusters | Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster | ||||
| Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia | ||
| Presidential Service Badge | United States Special Operations Command Badge | |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromAdmiral William H. McRaven.United States Navy.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Admiral William McRaven discuss the ongoing wars in Syria and Iraq.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander ofJoint Special Operations Command 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander ofUnited States Special Operations Command 2011–2014 | |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theUniversity of Texas System 2015–2018 | Succeeded by |
