Brigadier General David L. McGinnis
Last Name: McGinnis
First Name: David
Middle Name: L
Nickname: Dave
Medals and Honors: 7 Campaign Stars
ACNSL Offices and Committees: Co-founder
Rank: Brigadier General
Service/Department: U.S. Army, New York National Guard, Department of Defense
Last or Significant Assignment: Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, OSD
Areas of Experience: Manpower and Personnel, Reserve Affairs
Articles, Books and Publications: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-national-guard-and-jo_b_140507
https://www.americansecurityproject.org/whatsnextmcginnis/
Brigadier General Dave McGinnis was one of the founding members of ACNSL. A veteran combat infantryman and Special Forces officer, with distinguished careers defending the United States in and out of uniform. Dave remains engaged as a thought leader on National Strategy, Defense and Mental Health Policy. He chaired a national level working group focused on the Behavioral Health of our military, veterans and their families from 2009 to 2015, remains an active member of Mission Readiness since its inception, an organization of retired military leaders calling for smart investments in America’s Children, and since retiring from office in 2012 returning as an active member of the Consensus on National Security of the American Security Project (ASP). Also, in and out of appointed office, Dave has been a strong advocate for change in addressing sexual assault in the military and upon retirement embraced the bipartisan effort led Senator Gillibrand to rewrite portions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to eliminate the command loop holes that allow many military sexual predators to escape justice.
Dave last served the Nation as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in the Department of Defense, from April 2009 to September 2012 being acting Assistant Secretary for fourteen months during that period. He was a force behind President Obama’s efforts on the well-being of military families, worked closely with the First Ladies “Joining Forces” initiative and helped draft the President’s Executive Order on Brain Health. Prior to that appointment he served as Decision Support Manager to Virginia’s Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, was a major player in establishing the Commonwealth’s Wounded Warrior initiative and served as the State representative on the Bush Administration’s Federal Partners’ Working Group for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Over the past 22 years, McGinnis has provided a steady stream of independent analysis on important issues, to include regular commentary in the national news media and intellectual products for members of the Congress, as well as our allies in the United Kingdom. He was asked to perform National Security roles in both the Kerry and Obama Presidential Campaigns. He has long been viewed as an accomplished analyst and valued for his candor as Senior Fellow of the National Guard Association of the United States, Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a founding Adjunct Fellow with the American Security Project (ASP), established by his Vietnam colleague then Senator John Kerry and Senators Hart, Hagel, Rudman, among others. Dave has a long relationship with Public Broadcasting’s NewsHour on National Security and Veterans issues and over his career has appeared or been interviewed by many national and international media outlets.
Dave retired from our military in 1995 following 29 years in the Army uniform, as a result of service connected disabilities. A Veteran of two ground combat assignments in Vietnam, with considerable Infantry, Special Operations and Joint experience (7 campaign stars), his later active duty career focused on Force Management and Force Integration, including the organization of two new Army Divisions and the fielding of the Deployable Medical System. He also led the post-Cold War Re-Organization of the Army National Guard from 1990 to 1993 before becoming the Principal Director for Strategic Plans and Analysis in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was reappointed to that role as a civilian following military retirement.
Dave is a member of the Legion de Lafayette of the National Guard Education Foundation, a graduate of the US Army War College, retired from the New York National Guard with the Rank of Brigadier General. He is the recipient of many military and civilian awards and decorations and is most proud of the recognition he’s received from the National Association of County Behavior Health and Development Disability Directors.