H. R. McMaster

Herbert Raymond McMaster (born July 24, 1962) is a retired <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> <a href="/facts/Lieutenant_general_(United_States)/B4rVa2LV">lieutenant general</a> who served as the 25th <a href="/facts/National_Security_Advisor_(United_States)/C2kEWjBE">United States National Security Advisor</a> from 2017 to 2018. He is also known for his roles in the <a href="/facts/Gulf_War/6LdLnGdo">Gulf War</a>, <a href="/facts/Operation_Enduring_Freedom/NmHxWBTY">Operation Enduring Freedom</a>, and <a href="/facts/Iraq_War/dlAgf8at">Operation Iraqi Freedom</a>.
Born in <a href="/facts/Philadelphia/2bFFCCTU">Philadelphia</a>, McMaster graduated from the <a href="/facts/United_States_Military_Academy/px9g8rhT">United States Military Academy</a> in 1984 and earned a <a href="/facts/Doctor_of_Philosophy/paJumdN8">Ph.D.</a> in <a href="/facts/History_of_the_United_States/meTQsrYe">American history</a> from the <a href="/facts/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill/Wrd3mBWz">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a> in 1996. His dissertation was critical of American strategy and military leadership during the <a href="/facts/Vietnam_War/W0gfbGTE">Vietnam War</a> and served as the basis for his book <a href="/facts/Dereliction_of_Duty_(book)/1KyrNsSv">Dereliction of Duty</a>, was a NYT Bestseller and is widely read in the United States military. During the Gulf War, then Captain McMaster commanded Eagle Troop, <a href="/facts/2nd_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)/djEk1YPJ">2nd Cavalry Regiment</a> in the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_73_Easting/0oN3HYsL">Battle of 73 Easting</a>.
After the Gulf War, McMaster attended graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill then taught <a href="/facts/Military_history/AKonYGMV">military history</a> at the United States Military Academy from 1994 to 1996. After serving as a squadron executive officer and a regimental operations officer in the 11th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin, California, he commanded the 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry at Schweinfurt, Germany from 1999 to 2002. After an Army War College Fellowship at the <a href="/facts/Hoover_Institution/TLMKp8LW">Hoover Institution</a>, Stanford University, he served as an executive officer and director of the Commander's Advisory Group at <a href="/facts/United_States_Central_Command/RleyluAU">United States Central Command</a> forward headquarters command in Qatar. In 2004, he took command of the <a href="/facts/3rd_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)/GR8sgcrL">3rd Cavalry Regiment</a> and fought the <a href="/facts/Iraqi_insurgency_(2003%25E2%2580%259311)/mLrxhL2j">Iraqi insurgency</a> in South Baghdad and <a href="/facts/Tal_Afar/56zoAzMH">Tal Afar</a> from 2005 to 2006 after which he became a top <a href="/facts/Counterinsurgency/gvfLNewj">counterinsurgency</a> advisor to <a href="/facts/General_(United_States)/xepv3HkX">General</a> <a href="/facts/David_Petraeus/rD52B5MT">David Petraeus</a> in Baghdad from 2007 to 2008. Brigadier General McMaster was the Director of Concept Development and Learning at the U.S. <a href="/facts/United_States_Army_Training_and_Doctrine_Command/hcRDGA7W">Army Training and Doctrine Command</a> (TRADOC) from 2008 to 2010. From 2010 to 2012, he commanded Task Force Shafafiyat (Transparency), <a href="/facts/International_Security_Assistance_Force/ujbozm50">International Security Assistance Force</a> in <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a>. Major General McMaster commanded Fort Benning, Georgia and the Maneuver Center of Excellence from 2012 to 2014. In 2014, Lieutenant General McMaster became Director of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army_Capabilities_Integration_Center/4ElUhcen">Army Capabilities Integration Center</a> and Deputy Commanding General (Futures) at TRADOC.
In February 2017, McMaster succeeded <a href="/facts/Michael_Flynn/e7YIcYd7">Michael Flynn</a> as President <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump/pqqKY21P">Donald Trump</a>'s National Security Advisor. He remained on active duty as a <a href="/facts/Lieutenant_general_(United_States)/B4rVa2LV">lieutenant general</a> while serving as National Security Advisor, and retired in May 2018. McMaster resigned as National Security Advisor on March 22, 2018, effective April 9, and accepted an academic appointment at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, in 2018.
McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the <a href="/facts/Hoover_Institution/TLMKp8LW">Hoover Institution</a>, the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow at the <a href="/facts/Freeman_Spogli_Institute_for_International_Studies/Dhjznw9U">Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies</a> and a lecturer in management at the <a href="/facts/Stanford_Graduate_School_of_Business/QsX1NvgA">Stanford Graduate School of Business</a>. He is also a distinguished visiting fellow at Arizona State University.

H. R. McMaster open-in-new

H. R. McMaster