Daniel Feehan, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, Joins CNAS as Adjunct Senior Fellow

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) announced today that Daniel Feehan, the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, has joined CNAS as an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Military, Veterans, and Society Program. As an Adjunct Senior Fellow, Feehan will contribute to CNAS’ research, mentor junior staff, and provide expert advice on key policy matters.

“Dan is dedicated to ensuring the readiness of our military forces and focused on ensuring service members have a smooth transition to civilian life once they leave the service,” said CNAS President Richard Fontaine. “As a veteran himself, he understands the unique challenges that members of our military face. Dan’s experience, insights, and expertise will be valuable to CNAS’ work.”

Feehan served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness (performing the duties of the assistant secretary) until January 20, 2017. In that role, he developed and oversaw policies and programs to ensure the U.S military was ready for all missions assigned by the president and the secretary of defense, and that all service members were prepared for a successful transition to veteran status. He led a team of 300 people and oversaw a budget of $600 million.

Feehan previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He also served as a White House Fellow.

Feehan was previously on active duty in the Army and the National Guard as an engineer officer, having been inspired to military service in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in 2001. He served two combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He received the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, and the Ranger Tab. After leaving active duty he became a middle school math teacher, serving low-income students in Gary, Indiana.

Raised in Minnesota, Feehan has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Politics from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Policy Degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.

For more information, please contact Neal Urwitz at nurwitz@cnas.org or 202-457-9409.