Frank M. Bradley
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Admiral Frank Mitchell Bradley. Since October 3rd, 2025, he commands the United States Special Operations Command. Before that, he led the Joint Special Operations Command from August 2022 to September 2025. His career includes commanding Special Operations Command Central from 2020 to 2022, and serving as assistant commander of JSOC from 2018 to 2020.
On September 2nd, 2025, under orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, SEAL Team Six, led by Admiral Bradley, conducted a strike in the Caribbean targeting vessels suspected of narcotics trafficking.
Born and raised in Eldorado, Texas, Bradley graduated from Eldorado High School in 1987. He then attended the United States Naval Academy, where he studied physics and excelled as a varsity gymnast, earning his commission in 1991.
Furthering his academic pursuits, Bradley obtained a Master of Science in physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005. His research in quantum scattering phenomena earned him a provisional patent and prestigious awards for academic and combat systems excellence.
Upon graduating from the Naval Academy in 1991, Bradley immediately pursued SEAL selection, successfully completing BUD/S training in 1992. His early operational tours from 1992 to 1999 included assignments with SEAL Team Four and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two, as well as an international exchange with the Italian COMSUBIN. In 1999, he volunteered for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six, where he underwent specialized training and participated in clandestine operations. At DEVGRU, he held various leadership roles from 1999 to 2015, culminating in command. He was among the initial coalition forces deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11 and has consistently supported operations in the war on terror.
His staff assignments from 2016 to 2018 included key roles within JSOC and the Joint Staff, focusing on operations, global strategy, and counter-terrorism. He then served as assistant commander of JSOC before assuming command of Special Operations Command Central.
In May 2022, Bradley was nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assigned as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command. He was promoted and took command in August 2022. In June 2025, he was nominated for promotion to admiral and assignment as commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
**September 2025 Boat-Strike Incident**
Reporting by The Washington Post details that Admiral Bradley, as commander of JSOC, oversaw a September 2nd, 2025 strike in the Caribbean, ordered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking. The report indicates that after identifying two survivors on drone footage, Bradley ordered a second strike, following Hegseth's directive to leave no survivors. This incident raised questions from current and former officials, as well as law-of-war experts, regarding its legality and compliance with U.S. Rules of Engagement and international law.
According to The Hill, Bradley's rationale was that the survivors posed a threat, potentially alerting other traffickers.
The Former JAGs Working Group stated that if the alleged order to "kill everybody," including incapacitated survivors, occurred within a "non-international armed conflict," it would constitute a war crime. If it occurred outside any armed conflict, it would be considered murder.
On December 1st, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Bradley's order for the second strike. Secretary of Defense Hegseth publicly supported Admiral Bradley, calling him an "American hero" and a "true professional," and affirming his full support for Bradley's combat decisions.
Admiral Bradley is the son of Frank M. "Pancho" Bradley, a World War II veteran. He and his wife Katherine have four children, including a son who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2020.
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Frank Mitchell Bradley is a United States Navy admiral who serves as commander of the United States Special Operations Command since October 3, 2025. He most recently served as commander of Joint Special Operations Command from August 10, 2022 to September 26, 2025. Prior to that, he served as the commander of Special Operations Command Central from July 20, 2020 to July 1, 2022, and as the assistant commander of Joint Special Operations Command from 2018 to 2020.
On orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and under Bradley's command, on September 2, 2025, SEAL Team 6 carried out a controversial strike on boats in the Caribbean alleged to be involved with narcotics trafficking.
== 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, where he 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 in Monterey, California 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 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 from 2013 to 2015. He was also among the first American and coalition troops to deploy to Afghanistan following the attacks on 11 September 2001, 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, 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. In June 2025, Bradley was nominated for promotion to admiral and assignment as commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
=== September 2025 boat-strike incident ===
According to reporting by The Washington Post, Bradley, then commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, oversaw a strike in the Caribbean on September 2, 2025, ordered by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking. The Post reported that Bradley ordered a second strike after two survivors were identified on a drone feed, following Hegseth's directive to leave no survivors. The incident prompted questions from current and former officials and law-of-war experts about whether the operation was a war crime or even complied with U.S. Rules of engagement and International law.
According to an account in The Hill, Bradley “viewed the survivors as legitimate targets as they could possibly call other traffickers to come get them and their cargo.”
According to a statement issued by the Former JAGs Working Group (formed in February in response to Secretary of Defense Hegseth's firing of Army and Air Force JAGs), if the alleged order to “kill everybody,” including incapacitated survivors, was part of a “non-international armed conflict” (as the Trump administration claims), then it and its execution would be a war crime; if, on the other hand, the operation was not part of an armed conflict of any kind, then the order and its execution would be murder.
On December 1, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Bradley ordered the second strike. Secretary of Defense Hegseth stated in a post on X: "Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made — on the September 2 mission and all others since".
== 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 ==
Media related to Frank M. Bradley at Wikimedia Commons
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States government.
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