William G. Boykin

William G. "Jerry" Boykin was the United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2007 and is a conservative Christian political activist. During his 36-year career in the military he spent 13 years in the Delta Force, including two years as its commander, and was involved in numerous high-profile missions, including the 1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt, the 1992 hunt for Pablo Escobar in Colombia, and the Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu, Somalia. He is an author and teaches at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia. He is currently executive vice president at the Family Research Council.

Early life

William G. "Jerry" Boykin was born on April 19, 1948 in Wilson, North Carolina. He attended New Bern high school and was the captain of the football team. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a bachelor's degree in English in 1971.

Early military career

As a young officer, he held positions in the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and served as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia.