SOCOM’s new commander is an experienced special operations leader

Special Operations

By Frumentarius

October 13, 2025

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On October 3, 2025, U.S. Navy Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley assumed command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from U.S. Army General Bryan Fenton, in Tampa, Florida. Since SOCOM’s founding in April 1987, this marks only the third time that a flag officer of the U.S. Navy has been entrusted with command of the nearly 70,000 special operations forces personnel in the United States military. The previous two Navy commanders were Admirals Eric T. Olson and William “Bill” McRaven.

Like the other two U.S. Navy admirals who commanded SOCOM before him, Bradley is a career Navy SEAL officer who, prior to assuming command of SOCOM, served as the commanding officer of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2022 until late September 2025. Bradley is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and completed BUD/S training with Class 179 in 1992. He then went on to serve at SEAL Team 4, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2, and the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), the Navy SEAL’s component of JSOC. Bradley also completed multiple staff tours at NSWDG and the Pentagon, before assuming command positions at Special Operations Command Central, NSWDG, JSOC, and now, SOCOM.

As the commanding officer of SOCOM, Admiral Bradley’s job is to serve at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa as the Unified Combatant Commander whose remit is to oversee the several special operations component commands that make up SOCOM. Those include JSOC, U.S. Army SOC (ARSOC), Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSOC), Marine Forces SOC (MARSOC), and Air Force SOC (AFSOC). Within those component commands are some of the most historically well-known and storied units in the U.S. military. They include Marine Raiders, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Army 160th SOAR pilots, Green Berets, Air Force Special Tactics Squadrons, Delta Force, and other units not as well known, who nevertheless also perform critical missions.

CH-47 supports SEAL operations — U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter crew-chief assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, supports Navy Special Warfare Command waterborne operations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, July 25, 2019. U.S. Navy SEALs engage in a continuous training cycle to improve and further specialize skills needed during deployments across the globe. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct missions from sea, air, and land. (U.S. Army photo by Captain Ryan DeBooy)

The command’s mission is to develop and employ “the world’s finest SOF to conduct global special operations and activities.” Those operations and activities range from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, to civil affairs and foreign internal defense, hostage rescue, direct action, and “Preparation of the Environment.” What this means, in plain language, is that Admiral Bradley will oversee the training, equipping, and deploying of SOF units which then conduct missions from direct attacks on fixed targets, to supporting allied forces in their own fights, to preparing a possible future battlespace through intelligence collection and establishment of indigenous networks that could support U.S. military operations. It is a wide and varied mission and SOCOM’s role in U.S. military operations since 9/11/2001 has been significant and enduring.

Command of SOCOM is a big and critical job within the U.S. military, and assuming the command puts Admiral Bradley on the same elevated level as the other 10 four-star flag officers who command the 11 functional and geographical unified combatant commands in the U.S. military. These include, for example, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Space Command, U.S. Cyber Command, and the other unified combatant commands. He is one of the president’s most trusted and impactful military commanders who – should a war break out in any region of the world – will undoubtedly play a leading role in the prosecution of that conflict.

As the former commander of NSWDG and JSOC, the Texas-native surely has an expert’s grasp of what SOCOM can do and should prove a capable and reliable leader of the nation’s special operations forces.

Feature Image: Gen. Dan C. Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passes the colors to U.S. Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, incoming commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, during a change of command ceremony in Tampa, Florida, October 3, 2025. USSOCOM develops and employs the world’s finest SOF to serve as a key enabler for the joint force, deterring aggression and when necessary, fighting to win. (Photo By Staff Sgt. Cutler Brice/U.S. Air Force)