Sergeant Major David K. McFadden is a native of Longview, Texas. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 5, 2001, and received basic training at MCRD San Diego. Upon graduation, he attended the School of Infantry West, where he received the MOS of 0331.
In April 2002, Sergeant Major McFadden was assigned to 2d Battalion, 8th Marines, where he served as a Team Leader, Squad Leader, and Section Leader. During his tour with 2/8, he participated in Dynamic Mix in Spain (2002), Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003), Operation Enduring Freedom (2004), and deployed with the 26th MEU (2005). While with the 26th MEU, he participated in joint exercises including Caya Green in Israel, Infinite Moonlight in Jordan, and Operation Seahorse in Iraq. Upon his return, he attended the Martial Arts Instructor course, graduating as the class Honor Graduate.
In April 2006, Sergeant Major McFadden received orders to Drill Instructor School, MCRD San Diego. He was assigned to 2d Recruit Training Battalion, Golf Company, where he served as a Drill Instructor and Senior Drill Instructor, successfully training and graduating seven platoons of recruits. He also served with Support Battalion's Instructional Training Company as a Marine Corps Instructor of Water Survival and a Martial Arts Instructor Trainer.
In October 2009, Sergeant Major McFadden was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, Weapons Company, Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, serving as a Section Leader and Platoon Sergeant. He deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010 and with the 11th MEU in 2012.
In August 2012, Sergeant Major McFadden reported to the Staff Non-Commissioned Officers Academy at Camp Pendleton. As a Faculty Advisor and Physical Training Instructor for the Corporals Course, he was instrumental in the graduation of 18 classes of students.
In April 2014, Sergeant Major McFadden attended the Combat Instructor School at the School of Infantry West. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Charlie Company and later Bravo Company, where he served three cycles as a 0311 Platoon Commander and two cycles as a Weapons Platoon Commander. In November 2015, he was selected as an Instructor Trainer at the school, where he held the billets of Instructor Trainer, Academics Coordinator, and Chief Instructor. His performance was recognized with his selection as Combat Instructor of the Quarter for the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2016, and he was meritoriously promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.
In June 2017, Sergeant Major McFadden received orders to 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, 5th Marine Regiment. He was assigned to Fox Company, serving as the Company Gunnery Sergeant, and deployed to Australia in March 2018 in support of MRF-D 18.2.
In December 2018, Sergeant Major McFadden returned to MCRD San Diego as the Operations Chief for Support Battalion. In this role, he enhanced the training curriculum by implementing additional body sparring and swim physical training, and he successfully managed over 15 VIP visits and numerous educator workshops.
In July of 2020, Sergeant Major McFadden was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, as the Senior Enlisted Leader for Battery C. During his tour, he deployed twice to Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, in support of the unit deployment program with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines.
In July of 2023, Sergeant Major McFadden received orders to Headquarters and Service Battalion, where he served as the Senior Enlisted Leader for Service Company. He oversaw a diverse company that included MCCS, Postal, the Expeditionary Contracting Platoon, LSSS, and the Regional Disbursing Office East.
In August of 2024, Sergeant Major McFadden reported to 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion to serve as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader.
Sergeant Major McFadden holds a Bachelor's Degree from Columbia College. His personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with gold stars in lieu of fifth award, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat "V", and the Combat Action Ribbon with gold star in lieu of second award.