Robert Stiles Harward, Jr. (born 1956), known as Bob Harward, is a retired

United States Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

and a former Deputy Commander of the

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

, under the leadership command of General

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, th ...

. After working as a Chief Executive at Lockheed Martin for eight years, he joined Shield AI as Executive Vice President for International Business and Strategy. He also served as the Deputy Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command and previously commanded Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435. After the resignation of Michael T. Flynn, U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

offered him the position of National Security Advisor on February 14, 2017. He declined the President's offer on February 16. While Harward cited family commitments as his reason for refusing the role, news sources reported that Harward was unable to agree with Trump over his scope to make his own appointments to his team.

Early life and education

Harward was born into a Navy family in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. During his teenage years, Harward's father advised the pre-revolutionary Iranian military and the family lived in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. While attending Tehran American School, Harward played sports against Iranian basketball, wrestling, and track teams; as well as other Tehran American School and International School football teams, was popular with his classmates and became familiar with the people and culture of Iran. He graduated from the Tehran American School in Iran in 1974. He speaks

Farsi Persian ( ), also known by its endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoke ...

. He graduated from the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, and then received his bachelor's degree from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1979. Harward is also a graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

as well as the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

. He served as a federal executive fellow at

RAND The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

, and completed the Foreign Policy Program ( Seminar XXI) at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT).

Military career

Harward reported to Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport with follow-on orders to the . After completion of a South American deployment in support of Unitas XXIV, he received orders to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation in San Diego, California. The base, situated on Silver Strand between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major United States Navy shore command, supporting over 30 t ...

where he graduated as the honor man of BUD/S class 128 in July 1984. Following SEAL Tactical Training (STT) and completion of a six-month probationary period, he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear the

Special Warfare insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

. As a Navy SEAL officer Harward served as platoon commander with SEAL Team THREE and then completed a specialized selection and training course for assignment to

Naval Special Warfare Development Group The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and unofficially known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often r ...

in 1988. Harward served as assault team leader and operations officer during which time he planned, rehearsed and operated during classified exercises and operations. Harward later earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

. Harward served staff and command tours including Naval Special Warfare task group commander for Operation Desert Thunder in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

; Joint Special Operations task force commander for Operation Rugged Nautilus; deputy commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in support of

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 ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

.; Special Warfare Plans officer for Commander Amphibious Forces U.S. Seventh Fleet; Aide-de-Camp to Commander-in-Chief, USSOCOM; executive officer of Naval Special Warfare Unit ONE and commanding officer of SEAL Team THREE from 1996 to 1998. As a Navy

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, Harward assumed command of Naval Special Warfare Group ONE (NSWG 1) in August 2001 and deployed shortly after

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He commanded a special multinational task force CJSOTF-South, later renamed

Task Force K-Bar Task Force K-Bar, originally the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-South (CJSOTF-South), was led by the United States and composed of special operations forces from seven countries. It undertook the first major ground deployment in the ...

and directed special reconnaissance and direct action missions throughout the country. In October 2002, Harward deployed as Commander, Task Force 561 where he commanded Naval Special Warfare Task Group Central in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. His forces included all the assets in the Naval Special Warfare inventory as well as forces from the Polish GROM, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and the Kuwaiti Navy. Harward relinquished command of NSWG 1 in August 2003 and reported to the

Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. He served on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

staff as the director of Strategy and Defense Issues. In April 2005, Harward was assigned to the new

National Counterterrorism Center The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing in McLean, Virginia. The NCTC advises the United States ...

in Washington, as the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff representative to the Senior Interagency Strategy Team. From June 2006 to July 2008, Harward served as the Deputy Commanding General,

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and he served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He considered himself proud of helping to improve the situation of women on his duty. On November 3, 2008, Harward assumed the position of Deputy Commander, United States Joint Forces Command. In 2011, Harward was reappointed to the rank of Vice Admiral and assigned to the position of Deputy Commander, United States Central Command led by General

. In October 2013, he was replaced by VADM Mark I. Fox. On August 19, 2013, Harward was presented the Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award by the U.S. Naval War College. Established in 1996 by the NWC Foundation, the award honors NWC graduates who have attained positions of prominence in the field of national security. Harward retired in November 2013 after 34 years of military service. In January 2014, he became the Chief Executive of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

United Arab Emirates. Following the resignation of Michael T. Flynn as National Security Advisor on February 13, 2017, journalists identified Harward as one of the principal candidates to replace him. President

offered him the position on February 14, 2017. Harward declined the position on February 16. Media reports cited sources indicating that Harward was unable to agree with Trump over making his own appointments to his team. On September 4, 2019, Patriot One Technologies Inc., a threat detection

technology company A technology company (or tech company) is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and ...

, announced that Harward had joined the company's Senior Advisory Board. On January 26, 2022, Shield AI, an AI-focused defense technology company, announced Harward as their Executive Vice President for International Business and Strategy.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* *
Robert Harward on ABC News
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harward, Robert 1956 births Living people Military personnel from Newport, Rhode Island United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy SEALs personnel College of Naval Command and Staff alumni United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Naval Special Warfare Command United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal Members of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America