General Francis Donovan
Commander, U.S. Southern Command
Francis L. Donovan earned an undergraduate degree from Towson University and was part of the ROTC program at Morehouse College. He earned a master’s degree from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and a master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College. He also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.
As an infantry, reconnaissance, and special operations officer, Donovan led Marines and Sailors in all three Marine Expeditionary Forces to include commanding a Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team, Marine Expeditionary Unit, Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and a Marine Division. He then commanded a Naval Task Force in the 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet.
Donovan later commanded Marine Corps Security Forces Detachment in Crete, Greece; a Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) platoon; and a Recruiting Station in Eastern Pennsylvania. He became Officer in Charge of a Special Operations Training Group; Executive Officer for Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Detachment One; and Director of the Expeditionary Warfare School.
Donovan served on joint tours as the J35, United States Special Operations Command; Branch Chief, Joint Staff, J-5 Trans-regional Threats Coordination Center (T2C2); and Assisting Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command.
Donovan was nominated by President Biden as Vice Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. He was confirmed in December 2022. President Trump nominated him to be commander of the U.S. Southern Command, and the Senate confirmed him by a voice vote in January 2026.
Donovan is married to Kim, a former U.S. Navy officer, and they have two children who serve in the Marine Corps.
In the News…
General Francis Donovan, commander of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), confirmed the cooperative joint operation that eliminated the founder of Tren de Aragua in Venezuela in a swift kinetic strike last week.
General Donovan stated, “We extend our gratitude to the Venezuelan security forces for their support to the successful joint operation against a Tren de Aragua compound that resulted in the death of the narco-terrorist organization’s leader, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero.’”
The SOUTHCOM commander added, “Guerrero was a wanted fugitive charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States.”
