Rear Admiral William H. McRaven served as the Commander, Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) from June 2006 through March 2008.

Later as SOCOM Commander, Admiral McRaven is credited for organizing and overseeing the execution of Operation Neptune Spear, the special ops raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011.  CIA Director Leon Panetta delegated the raid to McRaven who has worked almost exclusively on counter-terrorism operations and strategy since 2001.