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.
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. 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 in 1987.[5]
Vice Adm. Judge Advocate General (JAG) Bruce MacDonald is pinned by his wife, Karen, during a promotion ceremony at the Pentagon.
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 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1992, he was transferred to Seoul, Korea, 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 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.
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 CommanderWalter Ruiz had a "shouting match".
Sutton reported that MacDonald's term as convening authority was scheduled to end in March 2013.[8]
^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.
^ ab
Jane Sutton (February 14, 2013). "Guards seized Guantanamo defendants' legal documents". Guantanamo: Reuters. Archived from 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.
^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.
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