(
left), at Clarke's promotion to general on 29 March 2019. Clarke was born in
West Germany and raised in an Army family. He is a graduate of the
United States Military Academy at
West Point, New York, and commissioned into the
Infantry Branch in 1984. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from West Point and a Master of Business Administration from Benedictine College. He is a distinguished graduate of the
National War College and earned a master's degree in Security and Strategic Studies. (
center), and
CENTCOM commander Gen
Frank McKenzie visit the WebOPS building at MacDill Air Force Base on 18 June 2019. Clarke has led soldiers at all levels in Airborne, Ranger, Mechanized and Light Infantry units in five different divisions, the
173rd Airborne Brigade, and the
75th Ranger Regiment in the United States, Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan. Clarke spent eight years in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a company commander from 1994 to 1996, then as a battalion commander from 2004 to 2006 and regimental commander from 2007 to 2009. He also served as battalion commander of
3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division from 2002 to 2004. His most recent assignments include serving as the Director for Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. from 2017 to 2019. General Clarke's other assignments as a general officer include: Deputy Commanding General for Operations,
10th Mountain Division from 2011 to 2013; the 74th
Commandant of Cadets, United States Military Academy at West Point from 2013 to 2014; and the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division from 2014 to 2016. Clarke's deployments while serving in the aforementioned positions include
Operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm,
Operation Joint Guardian in
Macedonia, three deployments in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, four deployments in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom, and one deployment as the commander of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command –
Operation Inherent Resolve. Clarke was appointed the 12th Commander of
United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) on 29 March 2019. Clarke retired from the military and relinquished his command of USSOCOM to
Bryan P. Fenton on 30 August 2022. Clarke was elected to the board of defense contractor
General Dynamics on 3 February 2023. ==Awards and decorations==