CommunityEditor
03-05-2008, 07:01 PM
The move to put an admiral in charge of Joint Special Operations Command, the military’s most secretive joint headquarters and long the domain of Army leaders, has been met within that community with a level of cross-service endorsement that might surprise those who expected responses rooted in rivalry.
That owes largely to the broad respect Rear Adm. William McRaven, commander of Special Operations Command Europe, has established within the spec ops community.
President Bush on Feb. 25 nominated McRaven, a SEAL, for a third star and command of JSOC. Bush also nominated the current head of JSOC, Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for re-appointment to that rank and assignment as director of the Joint Staff.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the change of command will probably occur in “weeks rather than months,” U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Army Col. Hans Bush said. Special Operations Command is the higher headquarters for JSOC, which oversees the operations of the nation’s most elite special operations forces, including the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment — Delta (better known as “Delta Force”) and its Navy equivalent, Naval Special Warfare Development Group (sometimes referred to as DevGru or SEAL Team 6).
JSOC is responsible for hunting “high-value individuals” such as Osama bin Laden and is heavily engaged in the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Sources familiar with McRaven say his experience and temperament make him a perfect choice to lead the elite command.
“I don’t think there are too many people in the special ops community who’ll deny that Admiral McRaven is a super-smart guy and the right guy for the job,” said an Army special operations officer who has worked for McRaven in the past.
“Admiral McRaven is absolutely one of the finest leaders I’ve served with,” said a former JSOC staff officer who served under both McRaven and McChrystal. “He’s not just a great military officer, he’s a statesman.”
Retired Capt. Rick Woolard, who commanded DevGru from 1987 to 1990, has known McRaven since the mid-1980s. He noted that McRaven’s previous assignments, which include command of a DevGru squadron, have given him experience in all the theaters in which JSOC is likely to operate.
“He’s got vision, he’s smart, he’s personable, ... he’s a superb choice,” Woolard said.
McChrystal, a highly regarded officer whose roots are in the Ranger community, took command of JSOC in September 2003 and spent much of that time forward in Afghanistan, at Central Command’s forward headquarters in Qatar and, especially, in Iraq. During his tenure, JSOC forces captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and killed, with help from the Air Force, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
McRaven, who authored a book about special operations called “Spec Ops,” will be the first SEAL to lead JSOC, a fact downplayed by Army and Navy sources. The former JSOC staff officer who worked under McRaven and McChrystal said that having a Navy officer in command would not be a concern among Army special operators.
“I don’t think there will be any hesitation whatsoever, because Admiral McRaven’s reputation as a war fighter is unmatched,” he said. “At JSOC, you really don’t see yourself as Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines; you see yourself as part of a team, a joint team.”
McRaven’s appointment as JSOC commander would also make him the latest in a growing line of Navy officers holding critical joint commands in the war on terrorism. Others include Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen, Central Command chief Adm. William Fallon and SOCom head Adm. Eric Olson.
A former Pentagon official who knows both McChrystal and McRaven hailed the former’s nomination to be director of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, which he noted means that any consideration of a fourth star for McChrystal likely will take place after the November elections.
“Stan is now in a position of responsibility where he can be considered for future commands in a fair and nonpartisan manner,” he said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_jsoc_mcraven_030408w/
That owes largely to the broad respect Rear Adm. William McRaven, commander of Special Operations Command Europe, has established within the spec ops community.
President Bush on Feb. 25 nominated McRaven, a SEAL, for a third star and command of JSOC. Bush also nominated the current head of JSOC, Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for re-appointment to that rank and assignment as director of the Joint Staff.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the change of command will probably occur in “weeks rather than months,” U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Army Col. Hans Bush said. Special Operations Command is the higher headquarters for JSOC, which oversees the operations of the nation’s most elite special operations forces, including the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment — Delta (better known as “Delta Force”) and its Navy equivalent, Naval Special Warfare Development Group (sometimes referred to as DevGru or SEAL Team 6).
JSOC is responsible for hunting “high-value individuals” such as Osama bin Laden and is heavily engaged in the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Sources familiar with McRaven say his experience and temperament make him a perfect choice to lead the elite command.
“I don’t think there are too many people in the special ops community who’ll deny that Admiral McRaven is a super-smart guy and the right guy for the job,” said an Army special operations officer who has worked for McRaven in the past.
“Admiral McRaven is absolutely one of the finest leaders I’ve served with,” said a former JSOC staff officer who served under both McRaven and McChrystal. “He’s not just a great military officer, he’s a statesman.”
Retired Capt. Rick Woolard, who commanded DevGru from 1987 to 1990, has known McRaven since the mid-1980s. He noted that McRaven’s previous assignments, which include command of a DevGru squadron, have given him experience in all the theaters in which JSOC is likely to operate.
“He’s got vision, he’s smart, he’s personable, ... he’s a superb choice,” Woolard said.
McChrystal, a highly regarded officer whose roots are in the Ranger community, took command of JSOC in September 2003 and spent much of that time forward in Afghanistan, at Central Command’s forward headquarters in Qatar and, especially, in Iraq. During his tenure, JSOC forces captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and killed, with help from the Air Force, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
McRaven, who authored a book about special operations called “Spec Ops,” will be the first SEAL to lead JSOC, a fact downplayed by Army and Navy sources. The former JSOC staff officer who worked under McRaven and McChrystal said that having a Navy officer in command would not be a concern among Army special operators.
“I don’t think there will be any hesitation whatsoever, because Admiral McRaven’s reputation as a war fighter is unmatched,” he said. “At JSOC, you really don’t see yourself as Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines; you see yourself as part of a team, a joint team.”
McRaven’s appointment as JSOC commander would also make him the latest in a growing line of Navy officers holding critical joint commands in the war on terrorism. Others include Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen, Central Command chief Adm. William Fallon and SOCom head Adm. Eric Olson.
A former Pentagon official who knows both McChrystal and McRaven hailed the former’s nomination to be director of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, which he noted means that any consideration of a fourth star for McChrystal likely will take place after the November elections.
“Stan is now in a position of responsibility where he can be considered for future commands in a fair and nonpartisan manner,” he said.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_jsoc_mcraven_030408w/