Donald Vandergriff

Major Donald E. Vandergriff, United States Army (Ret.), is a teacher, writer and lecturer who specializes in military leadership education and training.

Background Vandergriff served with the United States Marine Corps and United States Army. He retired after 24 years of service. He holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Tennessee and a master's degree in military history from American Military University. He was the first major from the Army to lecture at the Naval War College.

Influence Lecturer, author and expert on military personnel issues, Dr. Jonathan Shay, refers to Vandergriff as “the most influential major in the U.S. Army”. Journalist James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly has sought out Vandergriff for consultation of several of his articles, mentioning him in his piece “Will Iran be Next”, (December 2004).