Bruce E . MacDonald Bruce E . MacDonald ( born 1955 in Cincinnati , Ohio ) 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 the Navy ' s Deputy Judge Advocate General 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 . He was confirmed by the Senate on August 1 , 2008 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 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 . 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 , Mass . , 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 . Post - Naval Career . In 2010 , MacDonald was appointed the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions , replacing Susan J . Crawford . On March 24 , 2010 , " Newsweek " reported that MacDonald who had helped draft the Military Commissions Act of 2009 . Carol Rosenberg , of the " Miami Herald " , reports that MacDonald had testified before the United States Congress on numerous occasions , defending the Guantanamo Military Commission system . MacDonald testified on February 13 , 2013 , at the military commission of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , and the four men accused of being his co - conspirators . 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 Commander Walter Ruiz had a " " shouting match " " . Sutton reported that MacDonald ` s term as convening authority was scheduled to end in March 2013 .