Rear Admiral Keith Davids
Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
Keith Bentley Davids was born in 1968 in Miami, Florida. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and received a Master of Science from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also holds an M.S. from the Naval War College.
From the beginning, he has been a member of the Navy SEALS, serving as a platoon commander, a special operations officer, and a team commander. He commanded Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Iraq, and has had multiple operational deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Pacific, and Europe.
He serves as the director of operations at Naval Special Warfare Command and was previously director of the White House Military Office. Prior to his current post, he served as Commander of Special Operations Command South.
In the News…
After a Navy SEAL suddenly died in 2022, a rare outside investigation found that he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs during an operation commonly called “Hell Week.” An investigation found those drugs in his car, and two of his fellow SEAL candidates also tested positive.
Rear Admiral Keith Davids, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, told the entire SEAL community last week that the Navy will begin regular testing of all SEALS for such drugs, a major shift in policy. Testing will begin in November “to ensure every NSW teammate operates at their innate best while preserving the distinguished standards of excellence that defines NSW,” he said.
If a sailor tests positive, according to the Navy’s documents, and he or she cannot offer a legal justification for the test result, they will be “processed for administrative Separation for either orders violation or for the commission of a serious offense.”
According to Rear Admiral Davids, the new policy is “a proactive demonstration of our steadfast commitment to the health, safety, and operational readiness of each member of the NSW community.”
