Feeley's mother was a professor of English. He is an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Regis High School in 1979, and earned B.S. at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1983. Feeley served in the United States Marine Corps from 1983 to 1990. He flew amphibious assault helicopters in and over Lebanon in the mid-1980s following the 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut. He also flew them from Navy ships in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. He became a captain. He earned his M.A. from the National War College in 2004. Feeley is married to Cherie Feeley, who is also a U.S. diplomat, and they have two children. He speaks fluent Spanish.