CAPT Rob Newson currently serves as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans, Assessments, and Strategy (N5) at the Naval Special Warfare Command. He was commissioned through the University of Kansas Naval Reserve Officer Training Program in 1989. Upon graduation from Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL training he was assigned to SEAL Team Five, deploying twice to South East Asia. Other operational assignments include: Operations Officer and Executive Officer Special Boat Unit TWELVE; Operations Officer Naval Special Warfare Task Group – Desert Thunder; Executive Officer SEAL Team SEVEN; Deputy Commanding Officer Joint Special Operations Task Force – Sarajevo; JTF HOA SOCCE Nairobi, Kenya; Commanding Officer NSW Support Activity ONE; Director Joint Interagency Source Operations Center (JIASOC - Iraq); Director Joint Interagency Task Force – Counter Terrorism (JIATF-CT - Afghanistan) and Commanding Officer Special Operations Command Forward Yemen.
He has served as Naval Special Warfare Strategist at three separate assignments: Special Boat Squadron ONE, Counter Terrorism Campaign Support Group (CT-CSG), and U.S. Special Operations Command, as well as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations at Naval Special Warfare Command. Graduating with Distinction from the Naval Postgraduate School he holds an MS in Defense Analysis (Special Operations / Low Intensity Conflict) and an MA in National Security Affairs (Strategic Studies). He is a PhD candidate at the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Educational Sciences.