This biography is no longer current; at present, no other official Department of State biographical information is available.
Ambassador at Large Dell L. Dailey is the Department of State's Coordinator for Counterterrorism, charged with coordinating and supporting the development and implementation of U.S. Government policies and programs aimed at countering terrorism overseas. As the principal advisor to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters, he is responsible for taking a leading role in developing coordinated strategies to defeat terrorists abroad and in securing the cooperation of international partners to that end.
Prior to his current assignment, Ambassador Dailey served over 36 years on active duty in the United States Army, reaching the rank of Lieutenant General as the Director of the Center for Special Operations (CSO), U.S. Special Operations Command, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. His duties involved participation in major military operations such as DESERT SHIELD, DESERT STORM, UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, JOINT GUARDIAN, and most recently, ENDURING FREEDOM, and IRAQI FREEDOM.
During the latter phases of his military career and particularly in the CSO, Ambassador Dailey's professional focus was not only on the military aspect of counterterrorism operations, but also on the need to deal with complex terrorist threats using all appropriate instruments of national power. Under his leadership, the CSO promoted interagency collaboration and built closer partnerships between military personnel and the members of other U.S. Government departments and agencies involved in global counterterrorism activities.
Ambassador Dailey was born into an Army family in Flandreau, South Dakota. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1971 and earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University in 1994.
