Darin Selnick is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served from 1985 to 1992, attaining the rank of Captain in the 1022d Combat Crew Training Squadron at Falcon Air Force Base, and participated in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm during the Gulf War. Prior to 2001, he held management positions at Lindora Medical Clinics, PacifiCare Health Systems, and FHP International. From 2001 to 2009, he was an appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), serving as Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (appointed July 2004), VA liaison to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Special Assistant to the Secretary, and Associate Dean of VA Learning University. He later served as Senior Advisor to the VA Secretary in undated prior roles, contributing to the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, and from 2018 to July 2019, leading implementation of the MISSION Act and receiving the Distinguished Career Award from Secretary Wilkie. In the White House, he was Veterans Affairs Advisor on the Domestic Policy Council from 2017 to 2018, developing an Executive Order on veteran transitions and aiding MISSION Act negotiations. Other positions include Commissioner on the Commission on Care (2015-2016), Senior Adviser at Concerned Veterans for America (2019-2024), candidate for Oceanside City Council District 1 (2022), and board member for the West Los Angeles Veterans Home Support Foundation and New Directions for Veterans, with active involvement in the American Legion, AMVETS, Jewish War Veterans, and Air Force Association. He is a former Deputy Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and colleague at Concerned Veterans for America. In 2025, he served as Senior Advisor to Secretary Pete Hegseth starting January 2025 and Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from January 20 to March 17, 2025. He has been a Fox News contributor, appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, and CNN discussing veterans' issues, and authored articles in The New York Times, Fox News, and MSN. Controversies include VA-funded cross-country travel expenses from California to Washington, DC (2018-2019), advocacy for removing individuals with gender dysphoria from military service due to medical constraints (February 2025), and suspension on April 14, 2025, amid a Pentagon leak investigation for alleged unauthorized disclosures—fired alongside Dan Caldwell and Colin Carroll, with a joint statement denying the accusations; a later investigation found no proof of leaking classified information.