LTG Fenton nominated for CINC, USSOCOM

Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced this month. Fenton is currently serving as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command and Joint Special Operations Command Forward at Fort Bragg.

The U.S. Special Operations Command is based at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. SOCOM is the higher command for the Air Force Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, Marine Forces Special Operations Command, Naval Special Warfare Command and U.S. Special Operations commands in Africa, Central, Europe, Korea, North, Pacific and South regions. Pentagon officials have not publicly announced who will replace Fenton.

Fenton’s nomination was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 6. The committee’s calendar does not list when Fenton’s confirmation will be held, as the committee has been focused on reviewing the National Defense Authorization Act this month.

Fenton, who commissioned into the Army as an infantry officer in 1987, has led the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg since July 2021. He previously served as the senior military assistant to the secretary of defense in Washington, D.C., deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific.

According to Fenton's biography, his past Fort Bragg assignments have included serving as a battalion commander at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School and as a brigade commander for the Joint Special Operations Command.

Operations he’s participated in during his military career include Operation Joint Force in Bosnia, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Africa, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Odyssey Dawn in Libya.

JSOC and SOCOM

The Washington Post, New York Times and military.com have reported that the Joint Special Operations Command is responsible for the military’s special mission units such as Delta Force, the Navy Seals and the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron. The Joint Special Operations Command falls under the U.S. Special Operations Command.

According to the SOCOM website, the Joint Special Operations Command “prepares assigned, attached and augmented forces; and when directed, conducts special operations against threats to protect the homeland and U.S. interests abroad.”

SOCOM is currently commanded by Army Gen. Richard Clarke, who leads more than 70,000 personnel. According to SOCOM, its mission is to develop special operations forces “to conduct global special operations and activities as part of the joint force to support persistent, networked and distributed combatant command operations and campaigns against state and non-state actors to protect and advance U.S. policies and objectives.” Among the jobs of its service members are civil affairs, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, foreign humanitarian assistance, hostage rescue and recovery and unconventional warfare.