Trump nominates Air Force veteran to oversee special operations forces

President Donald Trump tapped Michael Jensen, an Air Force veteran with experience in special operations forces, to take a high-level Pentagon job as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.

His nomination was submitted to the Senate and referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday, according to a notice posted on Congress.gov.

If confirmed, he would be responsible for providing civilian oversight of the U.S. military’s SOF enterprise and exercising “authority, direction, and control of all special operations peculiar issues relating to the organization, training, and equipping of special operations forces,” according to a Defense Department description of the job.

Jensen, an Air Force Academy graduate, served in the military for more than 20 years before becoming a business executive in 2021, according to his LinkedIn bio.

Some of his most notable duty assignments included 26th Special Tactics Squadron commander and deputy commander of the 724th Special Tactics Group, which are part of Air Force Special Operations Command. He also served as a strategy lead in the Air Force’s Checkmate office at the Pentagon.

If confirmed, Jensen would assume a top leadership role as the SOF community adapts for great power competition with advanced adversaries such as China and Russia, and pursues new digital applications, AI and autonomy, drones and other cutting-edge tech.

The DOD is also promoting a concept known as the “SOF-Space-Cyber triad.”

“This integration enables on-the-ground intelligence, access, global communication, surveillance, information warfare and network disruption. Together, these elements create a force multiplier factor that enable the Joint Force to conduct operations with reduced risk of escalation,” U.S. Special Operations Command officials wrote in a new strategy document that was released in December, called “SOF Renaissance,” which noted the need to be prepared for “hyper-transparent battlefields.”

The duties of ASD for SO/LIC are currently being performed by Colby Jenkins, according to the Pentagon. Christopher Maier held that role during the Biden administration.