Sean Averell Pybus (born September 22, 1957) 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 ...

Vice Admiral who last served as the deputy Commander,

U.S. 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 Arm ...

(USSOCOM) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as the Commander,

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 2011 to 2013.

Military career

Pybus graduated from

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

in 1979 and was commissioned through the Navy

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

. After his commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, he reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea, Air, Land training in Coronado, Calif. He graduated with BUD/S class 105 in December 1979. Following SEAL Tactical Training and completion of six month probationary period, he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear the

Special Warfare insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

. He has served operationally in an Underwater Demolition Team, SEAL Team, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team and Special Boat Team. As a platoon commander with SEAL Team ONE, Pybus completed a deployment to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In 1984, Pybus was assigned 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 ...

and completed a grueling selection and training course. Pybus went on to serve as Assault Squadron Commander during the

Achille Lauro hijacking The ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner MS ''Achille Lauro'' was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria ...

. Pybus has participated in several classified contingency operations and has served as a SEAL platoon commander, joint special operations staff officer and executive officer, SEAL Team TWO. His overseas assignments include service in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Pybus earned 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. Tho ...

degree in Strategic Studies at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

in 1998. He served command tours of Naval Special Warfare Unit 2 in Germany and Commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 from July 2005 to Jun 2007. Pybus was promoted to rear admiral in 2007 and subsequently served as Director of Operations, J-3,

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 Arm ...

(USSOCOM), 2007-2009 followed by assignment to Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii as Commander,

Special Operations Command Pacific The Special Operations Command Pacific, known as SOCPAC, is a sub-unified command of the United States Department of Defense for special operations forces in the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility. History Th ...

from 2009-2011. Pybus became Commander,

in Coronado, California from 2011 to 2013. In 2013 he was promoted to vice admiral and assigned to NATO Special Operations Headquarters in Mons, Belgium. His last position before retirement was as deputy commander,

USSOCOM 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 ...

, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 2014-2016. ''This article contains material from the United States Federal Government and is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

.''

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Biography at Navy.mil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pybus, Sean A. Living people United States Navy vice admirals United States Navy SEALs personnel University of Rochester alumni Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal 1957 births