American special operations forces get new civilian overseer
Former Green Beret and Republican congressional candidate Derrick Anderson was approved by the Senate on Thursday night to serve as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.
Anderson was confirmed along with a slew of other nominees for federal jobs en bloc by a vote of 53-43.
The ASD for SO/LIC — which the Trump administration has rebranded as assistant secretary of war — advises the undersecretary of defense for policy and “oversees and advocates for Special Operations and Irregular Warfare throughout the Department of War to ensure these capabilities are resourced, ready, and properly employed in accordance with the National Defense Strategy,” according to a Pentagon description of the position.
The holder of that job has “authority, direction, and control of all special operations peculiar issues relating to the organization, training, and equipping of special operations forces,” and is “in the chain-of-command above USSOCOM for special operations-peculiar administrative matters.”
U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is the combatant command in charge of America’s commando forces.
Anderson — who served in senior positions in the National Security Council and the Army earlier this year — was nominated for the ASD SO/LIC position in June by President Donald Trump. His confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee was held in September. He received full Senate approval after Republicans pushed a resolution to expedite the confirmation of Trump nominees en bloc.
Trump had previously endorsed Anderson during his unsuccessful campaign for Congress as the Republican nominee in Virginia’s 7th District during the 2024 election cycle.
The new SOF overseer isn’t a newcomer to the special ops community. Anderson served as a Green Beret from 2010 to 2016, including as Special Forces company executive officer and Operational Detachment Alpha commander.
In 2014, he was involved in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of five U.S. troops and an Afghan soldier during an American airstrike. Investigators later placed blame on Anderson for what happened, but he and other former service members took issue with their conclusions and faulted a problem with the aircraft’s targeting system, as reported by CBS News.
In his new position at the Pentagon, Anderson will provide civilian oversight of SOF as they continue to battle non-state actors and prepare for potential conflicts against advanced adversaries such as China.
He’ll also serve as a resource advocate for SOCOM, which is moving to adopt new drones, AI and other digital tools to gain an edge over foes.
Anderson will be stepping into his new role amid controversy about the legality of strikes overseen by the commander of SOCOM in September against alleged narco-traffickers in the Caribbean, which reportedly included a so-called “double tap” attack that killed survivors of the initial strike that disabled their vessel at sea.
Those strikes were part of a broader, ongoing military campaign directed by the Trump administration against alleged drug smugglers.
Richard Tilley had been serving as acting ASD for SO/LIC prior to Anderson’s confirmation.
