Adm. William McRaven is headed back to Austin.
To be the commencement speaker at the University of Texas, his alma mater.
“McRaven, ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command who is best known for having planned and directed the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, will deliver the keynote address at The University of Texas at Austin’s 131st Spring Commencement on May 18,” according to the university.
“McRaven, an alumnus of the university who was a member of its Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), will address about 8,000 spring graduates and their guests during the 8 p.m. ceremony on the university’s Main Mall.”
According to the university:
“Admiral McRaven is one of the great Americans of our time, a Distinguished Alumnus and a quintessential model of discipline and leadership,” said UT Austin President Bill Powers, a Navy veteran himself.
McRaven participated in the university’s track program and met his wife of more than 30 years there, according to the university. In 2012, he was keynote speaker at the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s Champions of Justice Gala Benefiting Veterans, which raised $413,000 toward legal services for low-income Texas veterans.
McRaven integrated his journalistic training and naval experience to author “Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice,” a book used by students of the military arts.