Ken Tovo retired from the United States Army as a 3-Star General in July 2018.
He completed his 35-year career as the commander of the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), a 34,000-strong organization incorporating all the Army's elite special operations forces, including the Green Berets, Rangers, Special Operations Aviation, Psychological Operations, and Civil Affairs.
A highly decorated Green Beret, General Tovo effectively led Special Forces units and directed high risk operations during numerous combat, counterinsurgency, refugee relief, and peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, and Turkey. As commander of Special Operations Command - Central (SOCCENT), then-Major General Tovo directed all special operations across the Middle East and Central Asia, managing sensitive military programs of strategic significance and helping partner nations develop their security forces across this complex and strife-ridden region.
Subsequently, as a Lieutenant General, he managed the US/NATO training and equipping effort for all of the Afghan military and police forces, the advisory effort to the Afghan Ministries of Defense and Interior, and a several billion dollar budget. Later, he served as the deputy commander of the Southern Command, overseeing all US military operations in the Western Hemisphere, including programs to counter the illicit trafficking of drugs and people, as well as to assist regional partners combat narco-terrorism and other causes of instability.
A distinguished graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point with a BS in aerospace engineering, General Tovo subsequently earned two Masters Degrees in Military Art and Strategic Studies. He used his academic background, personal study of history, and extensive operational experience to foster innovation and adaptation on and off the battlefield. His strategic vision drove the development of the modernization plan for Army special operations forces (USASOC Strategy 2035). The strategy and implementing plans are designed to guide the force through today's dynamic times and allow it to adapt to the significant changes in the character of warfare wrought by rapid technological change and the return of great power competition.
General Tovo now offers his insights into organizational culture, strategic planning and resourcing, and change management to private industry, primarily in the defense and technology sectors, as President and Founder of his consultancy firm, DOL Enterprises, and as a board member of Mako Medical Laboratories and of a defense-related manufacturing firm.