At 15, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force as an apprentice motor transport fitter.
[1][2] After ten years as an enlisted airman, McDonald was accepted for pilot training and commissioned as an officer in 1989.
92 Wing (during which he helped to introduce the Lockheed AP-3C Orion into service) and, in 2001, was promoted squadron leader and returned to No.
11 Squadron in 2007,[2] he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his two years of "outstanding achievement" in the role.
92 Wing in 2009 and, in October 2011, was posted to the Middle East as Air Component Commander for Joint Task Force 633 in support of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the War in Afghanistan.
According to Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne, the raising of McDonald and the Chief of Joint Capabilities billet to three-star rank "was a reflection of the importance the position held in Defence", particularly since the chief is "the capability manager for the fifth domain of war—information warfare".