Board of Advisors
Colonel (Retired) Edwin “Andy” Anderson, born in Albany, Ga. in 1951, began his military service via an Army ROTC scholarship at the University of Georgia in 1969. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from his beloved UGA, he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers and entered active duty in October 1975. His first assignment was as a combat engineer platoon leader and company executive officer in Neu Ulm, Germany for 4 years.
His follow-on assignment was as a company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C from 1980-82. He began his first assignment in the special-operations arena as the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) engineer in 1982. He completed the Special Forces Qualification “Q” Course in 1983 while assigned to 5th Group, with a follow-on assignment as an ROTC instructor at the University of Iowa for four years.
In 1987 he was one of the first officers to change branches to the newly created Special Forces Branch. Upon completing the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1989, he returned to Fort Bragg as the commander of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 5th SF Group. He then moved up to the battalion XO of 1st Bn, 3rd SF Group and deployed with the Battalion in January 1991 to serve in Operation Desert Storm. Upon his return to the United States, he was reassigned to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command as the G3. He was then selected for battalion command of the 2nd Bn (Advanced Skills), 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne). He commanded the battalion from 1992 to 1994. He then served as the Assistant G3 for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command through June 1995.
Col. Anderson graduated from the Air Force War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. and returned to Fort Bragg in 1997, serving as the chief of staff of the Special Warfare Center and School for two years. In 1999, he took command of the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne). During his two-year tenure, he executed significant changes resulting in the growth of the SF Assessment and Selection and the SF Qualification Course. Remaining at SWCS for another three years, he was the director of training and doctrine ( DOTD). His last operational assignment was as the J3 of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa in Djibouti, Africa in support of the Global War on Terror. He retired after 30 years of continuous active service in Nov, 2005.
Since retiring from the military he started and runs a private consulting firm, Precision Solutions Group, Inc, which provides advice and assistance to U.S. and International companies on a variety of levels doing business with the US Government agencies, DOD, Academia and private entities. He remains actively engaged with current issues affecting Special Operations military veterans, active duty, and their families. Andy served as member of the Board of Directors of the SOWF from 2007 to 2020. He has now transitioned to continue to support as an Ambassador for SOWF.
Andy and his wife, Jan, were married in their home town of Washington, Ga. in 1975. Upon retirement, he and Jan remained very active in the Fayetteville and Fort Bragg military and civilian communities for 14 years, both serving as key links between many support organizations and military families. In 2019 they returned to their hometown of Washington, Georgia.