He served in the United States Navy during World War II and later earned his Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University in 1950.

[2] Cooke went back on active duty in 1951 and served in a number of posts until he retired as a Navy captain in 1968.

Cooke had a federal government career of more than 45 years in the Pentagon from 1957 to 2002. Notable positions he served in include Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Administration from 1971 to 1988, Director of the Washington Headquarters Services since 1977, and Director of Administration and Management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since 1988.

Following his Navy retirement, Cooke headed the Department's Office of Organizational and Management Planning, a job that evolved into his final post.

In 2005, the "David O. Cooke Excellence in Public Administration Award" was established in Cooke's honor to recognize a DoD employee with three to 10 years of federal service who occupies a non-managerial position and exhibits great potential as a future federal executive.