Bruce Edward MacDonald (born 1955) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

vice admiral 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 Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations o ...

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)
10 USC 5149 Office of the Judge Advocate General: Deputy Judge Ad ...

from November 2004 to July 2006. On July 2, 2008, then Rear Admiral MacDonald was nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral while serving as the Navy's Judge Advocate General. He was confirmed by the United States Senate, Senate 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 The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 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 Officers 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 19 ...

. 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 Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from th ...

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 (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

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

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, 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 is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

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. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

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 The term convening authority is used in United States military law to refer to an individual with certain legal powers granted under either the Uniform Code of Military Justice (i.e. the regular military justice system) or the Military Commissions ...

for the

Office of Military Commissions ThGuantanamo military commissionswere 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 e ...

, replacing

Susan J. Crawford Susan Jean Crawford (born April 22, 1947) is an American lawyer, who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions, on February 7, 2007. United States Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appoin ...

. On March 24, 2010, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' reported that MacDonald had helped draft the

Military Commissions Act of 2009 The Military Commissions Act of 2009, which amended the Military Commissions Act of 2006, was passed to address concerns by the United States Supreme Court. In ''Boumediene v. Bush'' (2008) the court had ruled that the Military Commissions Act ...

. Carol Rosenberg, of the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'', reports that MacDonald had testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on numerous occasions, defending the

Guantanamo Military Commission ThGuantanamo military commissionswere 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 e ...

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

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-re ...

, 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. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

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 A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

from the United States Navy.'' *https://web.archive.org/web/20070730075233/http://www.jag.navy.mil/AboutUs/RADMMacdonald.doc *http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/bio.asp?bioID=187

External links