Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson is the seventh Commander of U.S. Africa Command headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. As Commander, he is charged with leading one of the U.S. Department of Defense’s seven geographic combatant commands in ensuring the responsibility of U.S. military operations and activities to protect and advance U.S. national interests in Africa.
Before taking command of AFRICOM, Gen. Anderson served as the Director for Joint Force Development, Joint Staff, at the Pentagon. In that role, he was responsible for envisioning and developing the future joint force and advocating for the future warfighter.
A native of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Gen. Anderson earned his commission as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at Washington University in St. Louis.
As a command pilot with more than 3,400 flight hours, including 738 combat hours, Gen. Anderson has flown 16 different aircraft throughout his career. Notably, he has flown the KC-135R, MC-130E, and U-28A operationally in several global contingencies.
His previous staff and joint assignments include serving as the Vice Director of Operations on the Joint Staff; Commander of Special Operations Command-Africa; Deputy Director for Operations at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters; Special Assistant to the Commander and Director of the Commander’s Strategic Initiative Group for United Nations Command-Combined Forces Command-U.S. Forces Korea; Senior Aviation Advisor for Counter-Terrorism Operations for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict; and Deputy Director of the Commander’s Action Group for United States Special Operations Command.
He has commanded at five different echelons to include commanding JTF-Quartz, a joint task force directed with the responsibility for overseeing the repositioning of U.S. forces from Somalia.
Gen. Anderson’s military academic honors include being a Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and an Olmsted Scholar at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2003 Master of International Public Policy, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
2010 Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2018 Capstone, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2018 Joint Forces Air Component Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2021 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1993–June 1994, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2. October 1994–September 1996, KC-135R Pilot, 91st Air Refueling Squadron, Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
3. September 1996–May 1999, KC-135R/T Instructor/Evaluator/Chief Pilot, 91st Air Refueling Squadron, MacDill AFB, Fla.
4. June 1999–May 2000, Student, Czech Language, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, Calif.
5. June 2000–July 2002, Olmsted Scholar, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
6. August 2002–May 2003, Student, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
7. September 2003–September 2005, Chief of Current Operations, MC-130E, 8th Special Operations Squadron, Duke Field, Fla.
8. September 2005–August 2007, Deputy Director of the Commander's Action Group, Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
9. October 2007–April 2009, Operations Officer, 319th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
10. April 2009–June 2010, Commander, 19th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
11. July 2010–July 2011, Fellow Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
12. July 2011–July 2013, Commander, 58th Operations Group, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
13. July 2013–June 2014, Senior Aviation Advisor for Counter-Terrorism Operations, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
14. July 2014–June 2016, Commander, 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
15. July 2016–June 2017, Special Assistant to the Commander and Director of the Commander’s Strategic Initiative Group, United Nations Command-Combined Forces Command-U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea
16. June 2017–June 2019, Deputy Director for Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
17. June 2019–July 2021, Commander Special Operations Command-Africa, Stuttgart, Germany
18. July 2021–August 2022, Vice Director for Operations, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
19. August 2022–August 2025, Director for Joint Force Development, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
20. August 2025–present, Commander, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 2005–August 2007, Deputy Director of the Commander's Action Group, Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as a major and lieutenant colonel
2. July 2013–June 2014, Senior Aviation Advisor for Counter-Terrorism Operations, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a colonel
3. July 2016–June 2017, Special Assistant to the Commander and Director of the Commander’s Strategic Initiative Group, United Nations Command-Combined Forces Command-U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, as a colonel
4. June 2017–June 2019, Deputy Director for Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, as a brigadier general
5. June 2019–July 2021, Commander Special Operations Command-Africa, Stuttgart, Germany, as a major general
6. July 2021–August 2022, Vice Director, Operations, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a major general
7. August 2022–August 2025, Director for Joint Force Development, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a lieutenant general
8. August 2025–present, Commander, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany, as a general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,400 (738 combat)
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, KC-135R/T, C-130E, MC-130E/H/P/J, HC-130P/N/J, AC-130U, UH-1N, TH-1, HH- 60, Mi-17, MH-6, MV-22, CV-22, PC-12 and U-28A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with silver and bronze oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
(Current as of September 2025)