The U.S. Navy Admiral William Harry McRaven is a retired four-star admiral who served as a commander of the United States Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014. He had previously served as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command and the Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR). In addition to these duties, he was also designat4ed as the first NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre director. In that role, he was charged with enhancing the inter-operability of all NATO Special Operations Forces. Admiral McRaven retired in August 2014 after serving his country for more than 37 years. As the son of a career Air Force officer, Admiral McRaven knew a lot about sacrifice and service, and he was proud of the work he did for our country.
McRaven was born in North Carolina, in the city of Pinehurst, the hub of a nearby military base. The town is also famous for being a golfer’s paradise. When McRaven was in elementary school, his family moved to San Antonio, Texas, and McRaven attended high school there, where he participated in track and field. His father was a Spitfire pilot in World War II and he also played briefly in the NFL. When McRaven graduated from high school, he attended the University of Texas at Austin. In college, he was a member of the track team and also a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. When he graduated from college in 1977, he had a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He was also named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2012.
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McRaven’s education didn’t stop at a bachelor’s degree. He has a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. In that role, he assisted in establishing the Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict curriculum. He was that program’s first graduate. After he retired, the admiral did a commencement speech that went viral online, prompting him to write a book with the key principles of the speech. They included:
- Start the day with a task completed.
- Find someone to help you through life.
- Respect everyone.
- Life is not always fair, move forward.
- Don’t be afraid to fail often.
- Take risks.
- Step up when time sare toughest.
- Face down the bullies.
- Life up the downtrodden.
- Never give up.
Admiral McRaven learned these ten principles in SEAL training and he taught them diligently all throughout his career. Watch this powerful motivational speech below.
