Mr. Derrick M. Anderson serves as the Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. In this role, he exercises authority, direction, and control of all special operations peculiar issues relating to the  organization, training, and equipping of special operations forces; supervises all special operations and low-intensity conflict related activities of the Department of War; and serves as the principal civilian adviser to the Secretary of War on special operations, irregular warfare, and low-intensity conflict matters.

Previously, Mr. Anderson served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Prior to this appointment, he served as a Director for Counterterrorism in the National Security Council where he advised the National Security Advisor and the President on national security matters.

Mr. Anderson is an Army veteran, and, after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, he served as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the 3rd Infantry Division, where he deployed to Iraq. He then served as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the 3rd Infantry Regiment (“The Old Guard”) at Arlington National Cemetery, where he competed in the Best Ranger Competition in 2009 and 2010. After completion of the Special Forces Qualifications Course, Mr. Anderson then became an A-team leader in the Green Berets and served as a Detachment Commander for two Special Forces teams and the Company Executive Officer for two companies over the course of five deployments to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon.

Following his time in the Army, Mr. Anderson graduated with his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019. He then clerked for two separate federal judges and worked in private practice where he worked on a variety of civil and criminal cases.