{{Short description|Australian Army officer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox military person |name= Daniel McDaniel |image= Daniel F. McDaniel.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= Daniel McDaniel in 2019 |nickname= |birth_date= |birth_place= |death_date= |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= Australia |branch= Australian Army |service_years= 1988–2022 |rank= Major General |unit= |commands= Deputy Commanding General – North (2019–22)<br/>Special Operations Command (2013–14)<br/>Special Air Service Regiment (2007–08)<br/>{{nowrap|Special Operations Task Group IV (2007)}} |battles= East Timor (UNMISET)<br/>War in Afghanistan |awards= Distinguished Service Cross<br/>Member of the Order of Australia<br/>Distinguished Service Medal<br/>Legion of Merit (United States) |relations= |other_work= }} Major General '''Daniel Francis McDaniel''', {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|DSC|AM|DSM}} is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He served as the acting Special Operations Commander Australia from September 2013 to December 2014, after Major General Gus Gilmore was reassigned. He was seconded to the United States Army Pacific as Deputy Commanding General – North from January 2019 to January 2022.
==Military career== McDaniel entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as an officer cadet in 1988. On graduating in 1989, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.<ref name="SOC">{{cite web|url=https://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Leaders/Special-Operations-Commander-Australia|title=Special Operations Commander Australia: Brigadier Dan McDaniel, DSC, DSM|work=Army Leaders|publisher=Australian Army|access-date=2 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209080928/https://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Leaders/Special-Operations-Commander-Australia|archive-date=9 February 2014}}</ref> In 1993 he served on exchange with the British Army of the Rhine.<ref name="DCG">{{cite web|title=Maj. Gen. Daniel F. McDaniel|url=https://www.usarpac.army.mil/dcgMcDaniel.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019013721/https://www.usarpac.army.mil/dcgMcDaniel.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2020|publisher=United States Army Pacific|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
McDaniel has spent the majority of his career with special forces or assigned to special operations, having first passed selection and been posted to the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in 1994.<ref name="SOC"/> He commanded the first squadron from the SASR to be deployed to Afghanistan in 2001,<ref name="SOC"/><ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2017|p=6}}</ref> was Commanding Officer of Special Operations Task Group IV in Afghanistan from April to September 2007,<ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2017|pp=143–44}}</ref> commanded the SASR from 2007 to 2008, and was posted back to Afghanistan in 2009 as Deputy Commander International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Special Operations Forces.<ref name="SOC"/> McDaniel was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 2002 for his leadership in Afghanistan the previous year,<ref>{{cite news|title=SAS Troops Honours for Afghan Role|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/stories/s736027.htm|date=27 November 2002|work=The World Today (transcript)|publisher=ABC Local Radio|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Courage, Guts and Heroics – Just Part of Being Australian|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/courage-guts-and-heroics-just-part-of-being-australian-20021128-gdfvpr.html|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 November 2002|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref> and received the Distinguished Service Cross in 2008 in recognition of his distinguished command of Special Operations Task Group IV.<ref name="SOC"/><ref name="DCG"/>
In between his operational and command postings, McDaniel has filled staff positions within Special Operations Command, Joint Operations Command and Forces Command.<ref name="SOC"/> Following his return from Afghanistan in 2010, McDaniel was posted to Headquarters Forces Command as Colonel Plans.<ref name="AM">{{cite web|title=Appointed a Member of the Order (AM) in the Military Division|url=https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/ad/ad2015/Media%20Notes%20-%20AM%20(Mil).pdf|work=Australia Day 2015 Honours List|publisher=Office of the Governor-General of Australia|date=26 January 2015|access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref> He was subsequently promoted brigadier and assigned as Deputy Special Operations Commander Australia. In September 2013, after Major General Gus Gilmore was reassigned, McDaniel was appointed acting Special Operations Commander Australia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chief of Army Announces Changes to Army Senior Leadership|url=https://news.defence.gov.au/media/media-releases/chief-army-announces-changes-army-senior-leadership|work=Defence News and Media|publisher=Department of Defence|date=19 September 2013|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref> He served in the position until December 2014, when Major General Jeff Sengelman was assigned the command.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Leaders/Special-Operations-Commander-Australia|title=Special Operations Commander Australia: Major General Jeff Sengelman, DSC, AM, CSC|work=Army Leaders|publisher=Australian Army|access-date=3 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107133712/http://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Leaders/Special-Operations-Commander-Australia|archive-date=7 January 2015}}</ref> For his "exceptional service" with the ISAF, Forces Command and as acting Special Operations Commander Australia, McDaniel was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Australia Day Honours.<ref name="AM"/>
McDaniel was subsequently posted as Director General of Capability Investment Analysis at Australian Defence Headquarters. On 4 January 2019, he was seconded to the United States Army Pacific to serve as Deputy Commanding General – North. He succeeded fellow Australian, Major General Roger Noble, in the role.<ref>{{cite news|last=Silvers|first=Justin|title=USARPAC Holds Ceremony Honoring Australian Generals|url=https://www.army.mil/article/215778/usarpac_holds_ceremony_honoring_australian_generals|date=5 January 2019|work=Army News|publisher=United States Army|access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="USARPAC">{{cite web|title=USARPAC Leaders|url=https://www.usarpac.army.mil/biographies.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125011757/http://www.usarpac.army.mil/biographies.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2010|work=United States Army Pacific|publisher=United States Army|access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref> McDaniel was awarded the United States Legion of Merit for his performance in the role, before handing over to Major General Chris Smith in January 2022.<ref name="Nous">{{cite web|title=Dan McDaniel DSC AM DSM|url=https://nousgroup.com/people/dan-mcdaniel/|publisher=Nous|access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>
McDaniel holds a Bachelor of Management from Southern Cross University, a Master of Management from the University of Canberra and a Master of Arts from Deakin University. He is also a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College.<ref name="SOC"/>
==Personal life== McDaniel is the son of Dale and Daniel Nolan McDaniel. Daniel senior was an officer in the Australian Army who, following service in the Vietnam War, raised the first counter-terrorist squadron of the SASR and retired as a lieutenant colonel.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Snapshots of Scheyvillians at War|date=2006|url=https://www.otu.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/newsletter/S20062.pdf|journal=The Scheyvillian|issue=2|pages=28–29|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Obituary: Daniel Nolan McDaniel|url=https://www.otu.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/McDaniel2.pdf|publisher=Officer Training Unit Scheyville Association of Australia|access-date=3 March 2019}}</ref> McDaniel is married and has one son.<ref name="DCG"/>
Following his retirement from the Australian Army in 2022, McDaniel became a consultant. He was appointed a principal of the Nous Group management consultancy firm, based in Canberra, in November 2023.<ref name="Nous"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Nous Group Adds a Century of Expertise with Principle Recruits|url=https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/8470/nous-group-adds-a-century-of-expertise-with-principle-recruits|publisher=Consultancy.com.au|date=30 November 2023|access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>
==References== ;Footnotes {{Reflist}}
;Bibliography * {{cite book|last=Masters|first=Chris|authorlink=Chris Masters (writer)|title=No Front Line: Australia's Special Forces at War in Afghanistan|year=2017|location=Sydney|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-1-76011-114-4}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Major General Roger Noble}} {{s-ttl|title=Deputy Commanding General – North<br/>United States Army Pacific|years=2019–2022}} {{s-aft|after=Major General Chris Smith}} |- {{s-bef|before=Major General Gus Gilmore}} {{s-ttl|title=Special Operations Commander Australia<br/>(Acting)|years=2013–2014}} {{s-aft|after={{nowrap|Major General Jeff Sengelman}}}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Daniel}} Category:Australian generals Category:Australian management consultants Category:Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Category:Deakin University alumni Category:Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Living people Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Unit Citation Category:Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Category:Southern Cross University alumni Category:University of Canberra alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)