General Raymond A. Thomas III formerly served as the 11th Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, GEN Thomas served as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, N.C.

GEN Thomas’ other assignments as a general officer include: Associate Director for Military Affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency; Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan; Deputy Commanding General, JSOC; Deputy Director for Special Operations, The Joint Staff in the Pentagon; Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armor Division in Iraq; and Assistant Commanding General, JSOC.

Prior to being promoted to brigadier general, GEN Thomas also served as the JSOC Chief of Staff and Director of Operations. His other formative and key, joint and special operations assignments include: Commander, Joint Task Force – Bravo, Soto Cano, Honduras; Commander, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Savannah, Ga.; and Commander, B Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, Fort Bragg, N.C.

He is a graduate of the US Army War College, Carlisle, Penn., and the Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I.

GEN Thomas is a native of Philadelphia, Pa. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and was commissioned an Infantry second lieutenant upon graduation in 1980.

GEN Thomas and his wife Barbara have two sons, both of whom are United States Military Academy graduates, Tony (Class of 2007) and Michael (Class of 2008).

GEN Thomas retired May 2019 and resides with his wife in the Tampa Bay area.  He is currently serving as the Chairman of Special Operations Warrior Foundation and on boards and in advisory positions in the aviation and Artificial Intelligence fields.