Bruce Edward MacDonald (born 1955) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

who last served as the 40th

Judge Advocate General of the Navy The judge advocate general of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The judge advocate general is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the Nav ...

from July 2006 to August 2009. Prior to that, MacDonald served as

Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy The deputy judge advocate general of the Navy (DJAG) is the second-highest ranking JAG officer and lawyer in the United States Navy. As part of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, the DJAG also serves as ...

from November 2004 to July 2006. On July 2, 2008, then Rear Admiral MacDonald was nominated for appointment to the grade of

while serving as the Navy's Judge Advocate General. He was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on August 1, 2008
Congressional Record 154:130 (August 1, 2008), p. S8078 and was promoted to grade on August 4, 2008 becoming the first JAG to be a three-star flag officer.

Naval career

Vice Admiral MacDonald graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and entered the Navy in May of that year. VADM MacDonald was commissioned an ensign in the unrestricted line through the

Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...

. Following the normal Surface Warfare pipeline, he reported to the USS ''Hepburn'' (FF 1055) in October 1979 where he served as Main Propulsion Assistant and Navigator. After a two-year tour at Fleet Combat Training Center, Pacific where he served as Intermediate Combat Systems Team Training and Advanced Multi-Threat Team Training course director, he was selected for the Law Education Program in 1984. He received his degree of Juris Doctor from

California Western School of Law California Western School of Law is a private law school in San Diego, California. It is one of two successor organizations to California Western University, the other being Alliant International University. The school was founded in 1924, app ...

in 1987. In 1987, VADM MacDonald reported to Naval Legal Service Office San Diego where he served as Senior Defense Counsel, Trial Counsel, and Medical Care Recovery Act Claims Officer. In 1990, he reported aboard USS ''Independence'' (CV 62) as the Command Judge Advocate. After receiving a Master of Laws degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1992, he was transferred to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, where he served as Chief, Operational Law Division, on the staffs of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea. He also served as Staff Judge Advocate on the staff of United States Naval Forces Korea. In August 1994, VADM MacDonald reported aboard Naval Legal Service Office Northwest as its Executive Officer. In November 1996, he became the Officer in Charge of Trial Service Office West Detachment Bremerton, Wash. In July 1997, he reported to Commander Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan as the Fleet Judge Advocate. VADM MacDonald assumed command of Naval Legal Service Office Northwest in August 1999, serving as commanding officer until June 2002. He was assigned to

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

as the Special Counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations from June 2002 through October 2004. In November 2004, VADM MacDonald became the Deputy Judge Advocate General and Commander, Naval Legal Service Command. In July 2006, VADM MacDonald assumed his position as Judge Advocate General of the Navy. He retired from the Navy in 2009.

Post-Naval career

In 2010, MacDonald was appointed the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions, replacing Susan J. Crawford. On March 24, 2010, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' reported that MacDonald had helped draft the Military Commissions Act of 2009. Carol Rosenberg, of the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'', reports that MacDonald had testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

on numerous occasions, defending the

Guantanamo Military Commission The Guantanamo military commissions were established by President George W. Bush through a military order on November 13, 2001, to try certain non-citizen terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison. To date, there have been a total of eight ...

system. MacDonald testified on February 13, 2013, at the military commission of

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaykh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born 14 April 1965), often known by his initials KSM, is a terrorist, and the former head of propaganda for the pan-Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. He ...

, and the four men accused of being his co-conspirators. Defense attorneys had argued that MacDonald had improperly approved death sentences prior to their clients being provided with informed legal advice. According to Jane Sutton, reporting from Guantanamo, MacDonald and

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Walter Ruiz had a ''"shouting match"''. Sutton reported that MacDonald's term as convening authority was scheduled to end in March 2013.

Awards and decorations

References

Sources

:''This article incorporates text in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

from the United States Navy.'' *https://web.archive.org/web/20070730075233/http://www.jag.navy.mil/AboutUs/RADMMacdonald.doc
navy.mil

External links