General Bryan P. Fenton currently serves as the 13th Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). USSOCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, FL, and oversees all Special Operations for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, General Fenton served as the Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) headquartered at Fort Liberty, NC.
General Fenton's other general officer assignments include: Senior Military Assistant for two U.S. Secretaries of Defense; Deputy Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command – Pacific; and Deputy Commanding General – Operations, 25th Infantry Division.
General Fenton's key Army and Special Operations assignments include: Director of Operations at the Joint Special Operations Command; Brigade, Battalion, and Squadron Command; multiple overseas Task Force Commands; and assignments as a Detachment Commander and Operations Officer in 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
General Fenton has deployed multiple times to include participating in Operation Joint Forge (Bosnia), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan/Africa), Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), and Operation Pacific Eagle (Philippines). He also served in multiple Areas of Responsibility including U.S. Southern Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
General Fenton's military training includes: the U.S. Army Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses; the Special Forces Qualification Course; Ranger School; Special Forces Language training (Spanish); Special Forces Military Free Fall (MFF); and Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) courses.
General Fenton holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Notre Dame, a Master's Degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and was the 2009 Army Fellow at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He also attended negotiation and leadership training courses at Harvard University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
His awards include: the Cruz de la Victoria Medal from Chile; Thai Jumpmaster Wings awarded by the Princess of Thailand; Notre Dame's Moose Krause Service Award and its Rev. William Corby Award for Distinguished Military Service, and the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives for National Security.
General Fenton is from Knoxville, Tennessee. He and his wife Dawn (from Texas) have two daughters.
Became the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, Sept. 30, 2022.
- JSOC
- Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
- INDOPACOM
- SOCPAC
- University of Notre Dame
- U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
- Harvard University
- Georgetown University