Edward G. Winters III (born June 26, 1956) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

rear admiral who commanded the

Naval Special Warfare Command The United States Naval Special Warfare Command (USNSWC), also known as (NAVSPECWARCOM and WARCOM), is the naval component of United States Special Operations Command, the unified command responsible for overseeing and conducting the nation's ...

from Sept. 2008 to June 2011. He also previously served as commanding officer of the

Naval Special Warfare Development Group The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

from 2003 to 2005.

Naval career

Edward Winters graduated from the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sys ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1979 and subsequently attended

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

in 1980. Winters then reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and graduated from BUD/S class 112 in May 1981. Winter's first assignment was to Underwater Demolition Team Twenty Two (UDT-22) at

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, later redesignated as SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two in 1983. In December 1983, Winters volunteered for assignment to

SEAL Team Six The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

Dam Neck Training Support Center Hampton Roads is the current name of the facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, which was long-known as "FTC Dam Neck". It is the home of the Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic of the United States Navy. History ...

, Virginia and completed a specialized selection and training course. Winters served at SEAL Team Six as element leader, assault team leader and operations officer till April 1989, during which time he planned, rehearsed and operated during classified exercises and operations including the ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking. Winters was assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in 1989 as the Joint Special Operations Command's liaison and action officer till 1991, when he was assigned as executive officer of SEAL Team FOUR. He later went on to receive a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994. Winters served another tour with

DEVGRU The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

from February 1995 to March 1998 as operations officer until taking command of SEAL Team FOUR from March 1998 till March 2000. Captain Winters then reported to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in 2001 at Fort Bragg as the deputy operations officer and completed multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Winters was promoted to captain in June 2002. Winters relieved Joseph D. Kernan in 2003 as commanding officer of

until 2005. From April 2007 to June 2008 Winters deployed to Iraq as commander of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team. Between September 2008 and June 30, 2011, Winters served as the commanding officer of the

. From 2012 to 2013 he served as director of operations,

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...

(USSOCOM). He retired from active duty on 31 Aug 2013 after 33 years of service. ''This article contains material from the United States Federal Government and is in the

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.''

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Rear Admiral Edward G Winters, III Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
United States Navy biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Winters, Edward G. III Living people 1956 births United States Navy admirals SEAL Team Six personnel Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal United States Navy SEALs personnel