David P. Fridovich is a retired

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. His position at the time of retirement was deputy commander of the U.S. military's

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...

that directs special operations campaigns. Fridovich is a 1974 graduate of Knox College where he was a member of

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

. He received his master's degree in political science from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in 1976.

Military career

After graduation, Fridovich was commissioned an Infantry Second Lieutenant. He served as a Rifle and Reconnaissance Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Light Infantry Company Commander with the 172nd Light Infantry Brigade, Fort Richardson, Alaska. He was appointed assistant professor of military science at

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

, where he trained the Mountain Cold Weather Cadre and Rescue Team. In 1984, Fridovich completed the US Army Special Forces (SF) Detachment Officer's Qualification course and reported to the

1st Special Forces Group The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces operating under the United States Pacific Command. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command ...

(Airborne) at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he commanded both an SF Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) and Bravo (ODB) in the 3rd Battalion before becoming the battalion operations

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. He commanded the Combined/Joint Special Operations

Task Force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alth ...

, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, from January through July 2000. In 2005, Fridovich was appointed commander,

Special Operations Command, Pacific The Special Operations Command Pacific, known as SOCPAC, is a sub-unified command of the United States Department of Defense for special operations forces in the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility. History ...

. He subsequently assumed duties as the director, Center for Special Operations, United States Special Operations Command in 2007. In 2010 he was appointed as deputy commander, United States Special Operations Command. Fridovich retired on November 14, 2011, after more than 37 years of service in the U.S. Army. At the time of his retirement, he was the senior Green Beret in the Army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fridovich, David Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Knox College (Illinois) alumni United States Army generals Members of the United States Army Special Forces