Frank M. Bradley

Frank M. Bradley
Frank M. Bradley
	Official portrait, 2022
Born	Eldorado, Texas
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1991–present
Rank	Vice Admiral
Unit	SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2, SEAL Team Four, SEAL Team Six
Commands held	Joint Special Operations Command ; Special Operations Command Central ; SEAL Team Six
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal (2); Legion of Merit ; Bronze Star Medal (2)
Children	4

Last updated February 20, 2024

Frank Mitchell Bradley is a United States Navy vice admiral and commander of Joint Special Operations Command since August 10, 2022.^[1] 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.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

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 had studied physics and was a varsity gymnast. He graduated from the academy and earned his commission in 1991.^[2]^[3]^[6]

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.^[2]^[3]^[7] His master's thesis was entitled Transport imaging for the study of quantum scattering phenomena in next generation semiconductor devices.^[8] 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.^[7]

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.^[9] 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 September 11th attacks, and he has deployed consistently since in support of the war on terror.^[10] 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^[11] and assigned as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command.^[12] In August 2022, Bradley was promoted and took command of Joint Special Operations Command. ^[13]

Awards and decorations

Badge	Special Warfare insignia
1st row	Defense Superior Service Medal with 1 Oak leaf cluster (2 awards)		Legion of Merit
2nd row	Bronze Star with "V" device and 3 5⁄16 inch stars (4 awards with valor)	Defense Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak leaf clusters (3 awards)		Meritorious Service Medal
3rd row	Joint Service Commendation Medal with 2 Oak leaf clusters (3 awards)	Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal		Joint Service Achievement Medal with 1 Oak leaf cluster (2 awards)
4th row	Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with 1 5⁄16 inch star (2 awards)	Combat Action Ribbon		Navy Presidential Unit Citation with 3 Service stars
5th row	Joint Meritorious Unit Award with 1 Oak leaf cluster	Meritorious Unit Commendation		National Defense Service Medal with 1 Service star
6th row	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal		Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
7th row	Armed Forces Service Medal	Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with 1 silver and 3 bronze Campaign stars		Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
8th row	NATO Medal for Ex-Yugoslavia	Marksmanship Medal for Rifle Expert		Marksmanship Medal for Pistol Expert
Badge	Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia
Badge	U.S. Navy Command at Sea insignia
Badge	Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

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.^[6]

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References

↑ "United States Navy Flag Officers (Public), September 2022" (PDF). MyNavyHR. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
1 2 3 "Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley". www.navy.mil. August 18, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
1 2 3 "US Navy Seal reflects on his NPS Physics degree". nps.edu. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
↑ "Senate Confirms New Leaders for Naval Forces Europe, Naval Intel, 5th & 2nd Fleets, NAVSEA; No Navy Announcement Forthcoming". March 30, 2020.
↑ Agency, National News. "United States support for the Lebanese Armed Forces highlighted by visit of Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley". National News Agency.
1 2 3 "Rear Admiral Mitchell Bradley Takes Reins of U.S. Special Operations Command Central - The Eldorado Success". myeldorado.net. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
1 2 "Commencement Ceremony" (PDF). Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. December 2005. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
↑ Bradley, Frank Mitchell (December 2005). Transport imaging for the study of quantum scattering phenomena in next generation semiconductor devices (PDF) (Thesis). Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
↑ "US Navy Seal reflects on his NPS Physics degree" . Retrieved September 12, 2020.
↑ "Rear Admiral Mitchell Bradley Takes Reins of U.S. Special Operations Command Central". Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
↑ "PN2080 — Rear Adm. Frank M. Bradley — Navy". United States Congress . May 10, 2022.
↑ "Flag Officer Announcements". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
↑ "Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley" . Retrieved September 19, 2021.

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 .

Military offices
Preceded by Hugh W. Howard III	Commander of SEAL Team Six 2013–2015	Succeeded by Jeromy B. Williams
Preceded by ???	Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 2016–2018	Succeeded by ???
Preceded by Hugh W. Howard III	Assistant Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command 2018–2020	Succeeded by Matthew J. Burns
Preceded by Hugh W. Howard III	Commander of Special Operations Command Central 2020–2022	Succeeded by Kevin C. Leahy
Preceded by Bryan P. Fenton	Commander of Joint Special Operations Command 2022–present	Incumbent

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[September_2022_Roster-1] "United States Navy Flag Officers (Public), September 2022" (PDF). MyNavyHR. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.

[navy-2] 1 2 3 "Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley". www.navy.mil. August 18, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[nps-3] 1 2 3 "US Navy Seal reflects on his NPS Physics degree". nps.edu. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[4] "Senate Confirms New Leaders for Naval Forces Europe, Naval Intel, 5th & 2nd Fleets, NAVSEA; No Navy Announcement Forthcoming". March 30, 2020.

[5] Agency, National News. "United States support for the Lebanese Armed Forces highlighted by visit of Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley". National News Agency.

[hometown-6] 1 2 3 "Rear Admiral Mitchell Bradley Takes Reins of U.S. Special Operations Command Central - The Eldorado Success". myeldorado.net. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

[graduation-7] 1 2 "Commencement Ceremony" (PDF). Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. December 2005. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

[8] Bradley, Frank Mitchell (December 2005). Transport imaging for the study of quantum scattering phenomena in next generation semiconductor devices (PDF) (Thesis). Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

[9] "US Navy Seal reflects on his NPS Physics degree" . Retrieved September 12, 2020.

[10] "Rear Admiral Mitchell Bradley Takes Reins of U.S. Special Operations Command Central". Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2020.

[11] "PN2080 — Rear Adm. Frank M. Bradley — Navy". United States Congress . May 10, 2022.

[12] "Flag Officer Announcements". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[13] "Rear Admiral Frank M. Bradley" . Retrieved September 19, 2021.

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