General (Ret.) Tony Thomas is a consultant on strategy to AI, data management and cyber firms. He is the former Commander of both U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Tony served 39 years in the US Army and since 2001 has had more combat deployments than any other senior officer. Tony was one of the military's earliest and staunchest advocates for applied Artificial Intelligence on the battlefield and was the first Combatant Commander to appoint a Chief Data Officer to bring private sector solutions to the warfighter. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1980 and also attended the U.S. Army War College and Naval Command and Staff College.