A career artillery officer, McDonough was posted across the globe, commanding every level of Marine artillery, from platoon to regiment. His deployments include the initial entry into Afghanistan in December 2001 as part of Operations Swift Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as a deployment to Afghanistan as an advisor team leader with the Afghan National Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2009 to 2010.

McDonough’s staff and joint tours include multiple tours in the Pentagon, as well as in the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, as both an instructor and a modeling and simulation analyst.

McDonough most recently served as the 89th commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy from June 2021 to June 2024.

McDonough’s decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and various unit and service awards. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1994. He earned a master’s degree in modeling, virtual environments and simulation from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005. He graduated with distinction from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University in 2014.