McCaffrey to speak at Orangeburg Memorial Day ceremony

The ceremony will be held at 1643 Russell Street at the Orangeburg County Library and Conference Center in front of the amphitheater. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved inside the conference center.

Retired Major General Todd B. McCaffrey, the S.C. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

McCaffrey is the state’s second secretary of the DVA. He was nominated by Gov. Henry McMaster and unanimously confirmed by the South Carolina Senate in March 2023.

McCaffrey served in the U.S. Army for more than 34 years, completing his military career as the chief of staff, United States Africa Command.

Following military retirement, McCaffrey relocated to South Carolina and joined the University of South Carolina as the director of military affairs. He assisted the university by integrating and expanding its portfolio of defense and other national security related efforts.

Upon departing the university, he consulted in the private sector to clients in defense-related industries, government and academia and served on the board of directors for a South Carolina-based veteran’s service organization.

McCaffrey is also an Association of the U.S. Army Leadership Fellow, supporting efforts to educate, inspire and connect leader development programs across the Army and its supporters.

During his military career, McCaffrey commanded units at all echelons through division-level and led both an infantry battalion and Stryker Brigade Combat Team in combat.

His other assignments include service as chief of staff to two four-star level commanders, and as the deputy commander at U.S. Army Pacific where he supervised Army operations across the Pacific.

McCaffrey is a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds master-level degrees in economics from the Colorado School of Mines and in national security studies from the U.S. Army War College.

He has earned the Combat Infantry Badge, is a three-time recipient of the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal and has been awarded the Bronze Star multiple times for meritorious service in combat.

He and his wife Lisa live in Columbia. They have two sons, a daughter, daughter-in-law and their first grandchild born in April 2023.

Further details of the ceremony will be released at a later date.