Public sector veteran Michael McNerney has been appointed as director of the Department of Defense’s new Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.
In his new role, McNerney will drive the establishment of the center, which was ordered as part of the DOD’s strategy for civilian harm mitigation and response, the department announced on Monday.
McNerney’s experience encompasses both public and private sector work. He has spent over 15 years in government positions centering national security strategy development and planning, civil-military coordination, international security sector reform, decision-making in conflict and international relations.
Prior to his selection, McNerney was a senior international and defense researcher at RAND Corporation, where he participated in multiple research initiatives, published numerous reports and penned several commentary pieces.
Before RAND Corporation, McNerney served as principal director for plans in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, during which he aided the secretary of defense in advising on DOD and interagency plans, force management and overseas basing.
McNerney has also presented on an array of national security issues to a number of U.S. cabinet secretaries, White House staff, members of Congress, four-star military commanders, foreign cabinet ministers, NATO’s North Atlantic Council and hundreds of government officials in more than 35 nations.
Early last year, Lloyd Austin, secretary of defense and a 2023 Wash100 Award winner, ordered the under secretary of defense for policy to develop the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan, a roadmap and resource list intended to guide the DOD in bolstering its methods of civilian protection.
In August, Austin issued the CHMR-AP, which called on Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, also a 2023 Wash100 awardee, to create the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence to “expedite and institutional the advancement of knowledge, practice, and tools for preventing, mitigating and responding to civilian harm.”
The DOD said that both Austin and Wormuth have “full confidence” in McNerney’s ability to conduct the center’s establishment.
