[2][3] He served as a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine's Gulf of Mexico Research Program Advisory Board from 2015 to 2019.

[4] Gaffney's naval career spanned over three decades including duty at sea, overseas, and ashore in executive and command positions.

[8] Gaffney is the recipient of Defense and Navy Distinguished Service Medals, Legions of Merit (4), Bronze Star (w/”V”), the Naval War College's J. William Middendorf Prize for Strategic Research, and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Navigator Award, the Aquarium of the Pacific Ocean Conservation Award, and has been inducted into the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Hall of Fame.

[11] In 2010, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for technical leadership in naval research and development and its impact on U.S. defense, ocean policy, and the Arctic.

"[19] More recently, Gaffney co-authored a March, 2020, editorial with Jesse H. Ausubel in response to the economic effects of the coronavirus on maritime and coastal industries, arguing for increased investment from the United States in the Blue Economy.

He was selected in September 2020 as a member of National Academies’ Committee on Defense Research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions.