Dan Caldwell Biography – Dan Caldwell Wiki

Dan Caldwell is a senior adviser in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). He is a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense in February 2025 as a senior adviser to the Secretary of Defense, according to LegiStorm.

Before they worked at the Defense Department, Caldwell and Hegseth helped lead Concerned Veterans For America.

Caldwell previously worked for Defense Priorities, a think tank that pushed for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy and was deeply skeptical of American engagement in the Middle East and support to Ukraine.

Caldwell is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. After boot camp and initial training, Caldwell was assigned to the Marine Corps Presidential Support Program, where he served as a member of the security force at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Following his service at Camp David, Caldwell was deployed to Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and conducted operations in Al Anbar and Ninawa provinces, according to Defense Priorities.

Following his service in the Marines, Caldwell worked for U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., from 2011 until 2013, according to a bio online. He focused on veterans and defense issues and eventually served as Schweikert’s deputy chief of staff. Caldwell managed Schweikert’s 2012 reelection campaign, a bitter primary fight in the then newly drawn 6th Congressional District that pitted Schweikert against a fellow incumbent Republican, U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle. Schweikert came out on top.

Caldwell graduated cum laude from Arizona State in 2011 with degrees in Asian History and Political Science.

Dan Caldwell Age

Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell was born on March 26, 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Dan Caldwell Pentagon

Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted from the Pentagon on April 15, 2025, as part of an investigation into an unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, a U.S. defense official said. He was placed on administrative leave, according to The New York Times.

Caldwell has accompanied the defense secretary to some of his meetings with key foreign leaders. In a Signal text chain first disclosed by The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in March 2025, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best point of contact for the National Security Council as it prepared for U.S. military strikes in Yemen.

He also advised Hegseth on other key matters related to U.S. military operations around the world. The investigation into Caldwell and his removal from the Pentagon were reported earlier by Reuters.

Dan Caldwell Political Party

Dan Caldwell is a Republican.