Retired US Army Lieutenant General & Former National Security Advisor
H.R. McMaster: Biography at a Glance
- Former National Security Advisor, Lt. General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster is a preeminent voice on leadership, national security, international affairs, and the global economy.
- He is the author of two important and New York Times bestselling books, Battlegrounds and Dereliction of Duty, which examine the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that the United States has faced.
- His latest book, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, lays out the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s presidency and gives readers insight into what a second Trump term would look like.
- McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
- He serves as an Advisory Board Member for Spirit of America, geospatial-intelligence corporation Edgybees, C3 AI, Strider Technologies, Zoom Video Communications, and Atlantic Council.
- McMaster has published scores of essays, articles, and book reviews on leadership, history, and the future of warfare in many publications including Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Videos
Biography
H. R. McMaster was the 25th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. H.R. is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Distinguished University Fellow at Arizona State University, and lecturer at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
H.R. was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984. He holds a PhD in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
McMaster has extensive experience leading soldiers and organizations in wartime in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served overseas as advisor to the most senior commanders in the Middle East. From 2014 to 2017 McMaster designed the future Army as Director, Army Capabilities Integration Center and Deputy Commanding General, Futures, US Army Training and Doctrine Command. As Commanding General, Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, he oversaw all training and education for the Army’s infantry, armor, and cavalry force.
H.R. led important strategic assessments including the revision of Iraq strategy during the ‘surge’ of 2007 and efforts to develop security forces and governmental institutions in post-war Iraq. In 2009-2010, he led an assessment and planning effort to develop a comprehensive strategy for the greater Middle East.
McMaster was an assistant professor of history at the United States Military Academy from 1994 to 1996, where he taught undergraduate courses in military history and history of the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as a graduate course on the history of military leadership for officers enrolled in the Columbia University MBA program. He teaches graduate courses at Stanford on contemporary challenges to international security and building strategic competence.
H.R. has authored three New York Times bestselling books. Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World examine the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that the United States has faced. Released in August 2024, his latest book, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, recollects his time serving under President Trump’s first administration. H.R. has published scores of essays, articles, and book reviews on leadership, history, and the future of warfare in many publications including Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, New Republic, and The New York Times. He was a contributing editor for Survival: Global Politics and Strategy from 2010-2017. Currently, he hosts the Hoover Institution interview series Battlegrounds: Vital Perspectives on Today’s Challenges and is a regular on the Hoover Institution broadcast series Goodfellows.
He is a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy. His military awards include the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.
Topics
Assessing America’s National Security Threats
Former National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster is a preeminent voice on leadership, global security, and international affairs, recognized for his leadership in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In this conversation, McMaster digs into the history, scope, and scale of America’s most pressing national security threats. He helps audiences understand the threats facing the United States today and the motivations, goals, and world views of our adversaries. Following a deep dive into American foreign policy, past and present, he explores how to reframe strategy and construct sound policy in light of specific challenges like climate change and Russian misinformation.
Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World
Former National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster provides a bold and provocative examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that face the United States, and an urgent call to compete to preserve America’s standing and security.
McMaster's remarkable first-hand experience includes 34 years of service in the U.S. Army with multiple tours of duty in battlegrounds overseas, as well as his 13 months as National Security Advisor in the Trump White House. In his illuminating, substantive remarks, he brings this experience to life, and dives into the world-shifting events chronicled in his new book Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World. McMaster also provides a powerful call for Americans and citizens of the free world to transcend the vitriol of partisan political discourse, better educate themselves about the most significant challenges to national and international security and work together to secure peace and prosperity for future generations.
Geopolitics and the State of the World Today
Renowned as a pre-eminent "warrior-thinker," Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster shares his views on the state of the world today and what we can expect from the future. A three-star general heralded for his leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a historian whose groundbreaking book Dereliction of Duty has become required reading in military circles, McMaster offers informative, in-depth, and refreshingly candid analysis of the key issues and players shaping the geopolitical landscape.
Leadership in Challenging Times
A three-star general and former U.S. National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster has led large and diverse teams, often in the most perilous and challenging of situations. Drawing on his extensive experience in the field and in the White House, McMaster shares his lessons on effective leadership, from how to be strategic in times of crisis to how to foster loyalty, support and teamwork.
Reemerging from the Crisis: The Political & Economic Implications of COVID-19
The combination of Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster’s scholarship and extensive experience as a soldier and statesman make him uniquely qualified to explain how the COVID-19 experience will affect crucial political and economic competitions that predated the pandemic. A New York Times bestselling author, his new book, Battlegrounds, describes the greatest challenges we face and recommends how the United States and partners across the free world can secure a future of peace and prosperity for future generations. As a retired general and former combat commander who was named by Forbes to its annual list of the world's 50 greatest leaders, McMaster writes and speaks about how competent, empathetic leadership is essential for the United States to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger and restore confidence in our democratic principles, institutions, and processes.
Technology and the Evolving Nature of Global Security
Former U.S. National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is uniquely qualified to shed light on the leading security threats of our time and how they are being handled at the highest levels of government. Decoding the evolving nature of global security and the opportunities and risks of new technologies, McMaster shares sharp insights and cutting-edge information on how both nations and organizations can protect themselves in today's ever-changing security landscape.
