Sean Averell Pybus (born September 22, 1957) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

who last served as the deputy Commander,

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 ...

from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as the Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command from 2011 to 2013.

Military career

Pybus graduated from

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1979 and was commissioned through the Navy

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

. After his commission as an ensign in the United States Navy, he reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea, Air, Land training in Coronado, California. He graduated with BUD/S class 105 in December 1979. Following SEAL Tactical Training and completion of his 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 ...

. He has served operationally in an Underwater Demolition Team, SEAL Team, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team and Special Boat Team. As a platoon commander, Pybus completed a deployment to the Philippines. In 1984, Pybus was assigned to

SEAL Team Six 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 ...

and completed a specialized selection and training course. Pybus went on to serve as Assault Squadron Commander during the

Achille Lauro hijacking The ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. A ...

. Pybus has participated in several classified contingency operations and has served as a SEAL platoon commander, joint special operations staff officer and executive officer of SEAL Team TWO. His overseas assignments include service in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Pybus 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 Strategic Studies 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 ...

in 1998. He served command tours of Naval Special Warfare Unit 2 in Germany and Commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 from July 2005 to Jun 2007. Pybus was promoted to rear admiral in 2007 and subsequently served as Director of Operations, J-3,

(USSOCOM) from 2007 to 2009, followed by assignment to Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, as 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 T ...

from 2009 to 2011. Pybus became Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, from 2011 to 2013. In 2013 he was promoted to vice admiral and assigned to NATO Special Operations Headquarters in Mons, Belgium. His last position before retirement was as deputy commander, USSOCOM, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 2014 to 2016.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Biography at Navy.mil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pybus, Sean A. 1957 births Living people United States Navy vice admirals United States Navy SEALs personnel University of Rochester alumni Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal