Hugh W. Howard

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Hugh W. Howard III is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who commanded the Naval Special Warfare Command from September 11, 2020, to August 19, 2022. He previously led Special Operations Command Central from July 2018 to July 2020. A 1990 graduate of the Naval Academy, Howard was commissioned as an ensign and completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, earning the SEAL Trident with BUD/S class 172 in February 1991. His first assignment was with SEAL Team Eight. In 1998 he joined DEVGRU (SEAL Team Six) and held several leadership roles, including troop commander and squadron operations officer, and later served as the squadron commander of Red Squadron from 2006 to 2009. He was the commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group from 2011 to 2013. He served as a JSOC operations officer in 2005 and earned a Master of Arts degree from the Naval War College in 2010. He later served as assistant commander of JSOC at Fort Bragg from 2016 to 2018. Howard’s decorations include the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars with Combat Distinguishing Device, six Defense Superior Service Medals, three Legions of Merit, the Navy Combat Action Ribbon, five Presidential Unit Citations, and four Joint Meritorious Unit Awards. He served in the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He retired from the Navy in 2022.