Maj. Gen. David T. Isaacson assumed his current position as the Director of Manpower and Personnel, Joint Chiefs of Staff on 24 June 2022. In this role, he is responsible for providing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with manpower and personnel counsel and support. He and his staff develop military advice to national decision makers and provide strategic direction to the Joint Force by enabling global integration to achieve maximum comprehensive Joint Force readiness.
Maj. Gen. Isaacson was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia. He graduated from Auburn University in April 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps as a Signal Officer.
After graduation from the Signal Officer Basic Course, he was assigned to the 50th Signal Battalion (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as a Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Battalion Operations Officer, and Company Commander. Following the Signal Officer Advanced Course, he served with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) as a battalion Signal Officer and Operations Officer.
Upon Completing Command and General Staff College and a master’s degree in Telecommunications, Maj. Gen. Isaacson returned to Fort Bragg and served as the Regimental Signal Officer for the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Battalion S-3 (Operations) for the 82nd Signal Battalion (Airborne). He was then assigned to the Combat Applications Group where he served as the Signal Squadron Commander and was subsequently assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command as the J-6 Operations Officer. MG Isaacson then commanded the 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion (Airborne). After attending the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he was assigned to the Department of the Army G-3/5/7 LandWarNet Battle Command Directorate where he served as the Current Operations Division Chief. After MG Isaacson served as Deputy Commanding General, Army Network Enterprise Technology Command. He then served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Following this assignment, he served as the Director of Networks, Services and Strategy, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6 from 2018 to 2020. Prior to his current assignment, MG Isaacson served as the United States Cyber Command Chief of Staff from July 8, 2020 to June 15, 2022.
MG Isaacson has multiple operational deployments including Operations JUST CAUSE in Panama, DESERT SHIED/STORM in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti, and several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq supporting the Global War on Terror and Overseas Contingencies. His awards and decorations are commensurate with his time in service and include the Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, the Military Freefall Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.