Retired three-star general William "Jerry" Boykin was the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (2002-07) during the President George W. Bush administration. Boykin’s decorated 36-year military career included 13 years as a commander in Delta Force, the United States Army’s elite special operations, counter-terrorism unit. Boykin served two years as a commander of Delta Force and participated in some of its most high-profile missions, including the Iran hostage crisis in 1980 and the “Black Hawk Down” firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993.

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As a young officer, he served in the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas; with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 1978, at age 29, Boykin volunteered for and completed a specialized selection course for assignment to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, or Delta Force. He would hold numerous leadership positions in the elite unit, including operations officer, troop commander, squadron commander, deputy commander and finally unit commander from July 1992 to July 1994.​