Bruce E. MacDonald
Bruce E. MacDonald | |
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United States of America | |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1978–2009 |
Rank | Vice Admiral |
Unit | Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy |
Commands held |
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Battles/wars | Gulf War |
Awards | |
Alma mater |
Bruce Edward MacDonald (born 1955)[1][2] is a retired United States Navy vice admiral who last served as the 40th Judge Advocate General of the Navy from July 2006 to August 2009. Prior to that, MacDonald served as Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy 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.[3] He was confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2008[4] and was promoted to grade on August 4, 2008 becoming the first JAG to be a three-star flag officer.
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
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 in 1987.[5]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/US_Navy_080804-N-8273J-062_Vice_Adm._Judge_Advocate_General_%28JAG%29_Bruce_MacDonald_is_pinned_by_his_wife%2C_Karen.jpg/220px-US_Navy_080804-N-8273J-062_Vice_Adm._Judge_Advocate_General_%28JAG%29_Bruce_MacDonald_is_pinned_by_his_wife%2C_Karen.jpg)
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
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
In 2010, MacDonald was appointed the
On March 24, 2010, Newsweek reported that MacDonald had helped draft the Military Commissions Act of 2009.MacDonald testified on February 13, 2013, at the military commission of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the four men accused of being his co-conspirators.[8][9][10] 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
Sutton reported that MacDonald's term as convening authority was scheduled to end in March 2013.[8]
Awards and decorations
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Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
Legion of Merit (3 Award Stars) | |
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Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
Meritorious Service Medal (1 Award Star) | |
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (1 Award Star)
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Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (1 Award Star)
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Navy Unit Commendation |
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Navy Expeditionary Medal |
National Defense Service Medal (1 Service Star) | |
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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |
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Southwest Asia Service Medal |
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
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Korea Defense Service Medal |
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Humanitarian Service Medal |
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2 Service Stars)
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Overseas Service Ribbon (1 Service Star) | |
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Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
See also
References
- ^ "Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, Judge Advocate Generals Corps". U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ [1] Flag Officer Announcement
- ^ [2] Congressional Record 154:130 (August 1, 2008), p. S8078
- ^ McClatchy News Service. Archived from the originalon September 2, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
MacDonald's last job in the military was as the Navy's top lawyer. He had repeatedly testified at Congress as a bullish backer of the at-times controversial tribunal system.
- ^
Michael Isikoff (March 24, 2010). "Pentagon to Name New Chief for Military Commissions in Sign That Gitmo Trials May Move Forward". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
The appointment of retired Admiral Bruce MacDonald, who formerly served as the chief Judge Advocate of the Navy, as the new "convening authority" for the Office of Military Commissions is among the most important moves in an apparent gearing up for the expected new wave of trials.
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Michael Isikoff (March 26, 2010). "Military-Commission Trials Set for the Summer". Newsweek. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
Since then, however, Congress has passed a new law—signed by Obama—aimed at making the proceedings fairer. And last week Gates named retired Adm. Bruce MacDonald, who helped craft the new law, as the "convening authority" to oversee the commissions.
- ^ a b
Jane Sutton (February 14, 2013). "Guards seized Guantanamo defendants' legal documents". Guantanamo: Reuters. Archivedfrom the original on February 15, 2013.
As "convening authority," he signed off on the charges and approved the decision to try the case as a death penalty case. Defense lawyers said he acted improperly by making that decision before all members of the defense teams had obtained the security clearances they needed to meet with the defendants and read classified documents.
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Kansas City Star. Archivedfrom the original on February 15, 2013.
For MacDonald's testimony, the issue is what political or military influences caused him to swear out the charge sheets in 2011 after Attorney General Eric Holder abandoned an effort to stage the Sept. 11 terror trial in Manhattan.
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Charlie Savage (February 14, 2013). "Legal Clashes at Hearing for Defendants in 9/11 Case". New York Times. p. A17. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013.
Admiral MacDonald, a former top judge advocate of the Navy, began calmly, saying that he was among a group of uniformed lawyers who were "disgusted" by the Bush administration's original military commission rules and had fought to revamp the system to make it fairer, including barring evidence obtained by torture.
Sources
- This article incorporates text in the public domain 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
Media related to Bruce E. MacDonald at Wikimedia Commons