After completing high school in Pullman, Washington,[1] McChrystal graduated from New Mexico Military Institute Junior College in 1942 and the United States Military Academy in 1945,[2] and was part of the occupying force in Germany after World War II.

[5] After serving on the staff of the United States Army War College, he studied international relations at Georgetown University from August 1957 to February 1959.

His final posting was leading the Test and Evaluation Command at Fort Hood, Texas.

[1][3] After leaving the military, McChrystal spent four years as a political-military consultant to RAND Corporation,[1] and worked for several years on the staff and faculty of the Florida Institute of Technology, where he also earned a Master of Business Administration in 1981.

McChrystal taught computer courses and served as director of professional development.