“Spirit of America is a unique organization that gives our troops a real advantage”

Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland is a native of Arizona and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Before assuming command of the US Army Special Operations Command July 24, 2012, Lt. Gen. Cleveland was Commanding General of Special Operations Command Central at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 2008 to 2011.

Lt. Gen. Cleveland previously served as the Commanding General of Special Operations Command South from 2005 to 2008. In 2003 he served his first assignment with the US Army Special Operations Command as the Chief of Staff and then as the Acting Deputy Commanding General. Lt. Gen. Cleveland completed a long association with the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) serving as the Commander from 2001 to 2003 and serving as Commander, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-North, Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lt. Gen. Cleveland oversaw the management of the Special Forces officer career field at the US Total Army Personnel Command in 1999 where he served as the Branch Chief. Previous to his assignment in Washington D.C, Lt. Gen. Cleveland served with the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Carson, Colorado from 1995 to 1999 when he served as the group executive officer, group deputy commander and battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). From 1993 to 1995, he served as an action officer in the Special Operations Division on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and later as the Special Forces field grade assignment officer.

A Special Forces officer, Lt. Gen. Cleveland served with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Davis, Panama in 1987 where he served as a detachment commander, company commander and battalion operations officer until 1990. Lt. Gen. Cleveland began his Special Operations career with an assignment with the 441st Military Intelligence Detachment, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Lt. Gen. Cleveland is a graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Advance Course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; the Armed Forces Staff College in Virginia; and the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He completed the German language course at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal.

Lt. Gen. Cleveland, his wife Mary Ann, and son Matthew reside at Fort Bragg, home of Army Special Operations Forces. He is currently a member of the Spirit of America advisory board.