Frank Mitchell Bradley is a United States Navy vice admiral and commander of Joint Special Operations Command since August 10, 2022. He most recently served as the commander of Special Operations Command Central from July 20, 2020 to July 1, 2022. Prior to that, he served as the assistant commander of Joint Special Operations Command from 2018 to 2020.

Early life and education

Bradley was born and raised in Eldorado, Texas. He graduated from Eldorado High School in 1987 and was accepted to the United States Naval Academy in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, where he had studied physics and was a varsity gymnast. He graduated from the academy and earned his commission in 1991. Bradley also earned a Master of Science degree in physics from the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

in December 2005, and received a provisional patent for his research in 2006. His master's thesis was entitled ''Transport imaging for the study of quantum scattering phenomena in next generation semiconductor devices''. Bradley also received the Monterey Council Navy League Award for Highest Academic Achievement and the Naval Sea Systems Command Award for Excellence in Combat Systems for his thesis research.

Military career

After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1991, he then immediately applied for SEAL selection and graduated from Basic Under Water Demolitions/SEAL training (BUD/S) with class 179 in 1992. His operational assignments from 1992 to 1999 include, assistant platoon commander and platoon commander tours at SEAL Team Four and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two. He also served as an international exchange officer with the Italian

COMSUBIN COMSUBIN (''Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori "Teseo Tesei"''; Divers and Raiders Group Command "Teseo Tesei") is the Italian Navy's special operations unit. Italy was the first nation to use frogmen and human torpedoes. The Royal It ...

or Italian SEALs. In 1999, Bradley volunteered for assignment to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six) and completed a specialized selection and training course known as Green Team. There he operated, rehearsed, and planned clandestine operations. At DEVGRU, he also held numerous leadership positions from 1999 until 2015, which included element leader, troop commander, squadron operations officer, operations officer, squadron commander, deputy commanding officer, and finally,

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

from 2013 to 2015. He was also among the first American and coalition troops to deploy to Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks, and he has deployed consistently since in support of the war on terror. His staff duty from 2016 to 2018 has included service as JSOC’s J-3 Technical Operations division chief and deputy J-3; vice deputy director for Global Operations for the Joint Staff J-3; executive officer for the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. and the deputy director for CT Strategy for the Joint Staff J-5. He also served as assistant commander of JSOC from 2018 to 2020 before taking the post as commander of Special Operations Command Central from 2020 to 2022. In May 2022, Bradley was nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assigned as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command. In August 2022, Bradley was promoted and took command of Joint Special Operations Command.

Awards and decorations

Personal life

Bradley is the son of Frank M. "Pancho" Bradley, a World War II US Army Air Corps veteran. Bradley and his wife Katherine have a daughter and three sons. Their son Frank graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2020.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy SEALs personnel SEAL Team Six personnel Naval Postgraduate School alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal {{USN-bio-stub