Oral History Interview, Steve Dinauer (2461)

Abstract

In October and November 2024, Colonel Steve Dinauer spoke with Sophia Scolman about his military career and civilian military involvement. A Wisconsin native, Colonel Dinauer was commissioned in 1986 through the Naval ROTC program after earning his Bachelor of Science in International Relations at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He later completed his Master of Arts in National Security Studies at the Naval War College. During his 27-year Marine Corps career, he served as an infantry and light armored reconnaissance officer with combat deployments during Desert Shield/Storm and the Iraq War, where he commanded the 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Al Anbar Province, including leading a battalion task force during the second battle of Fallujah in 2004. His career included service at the Pentagon during 9/11, oversight of Marine Embassy Security operations worldwide, and concluded as the Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science at the University of Colorado Boulder's Naval ROTC program, where he later served as Director of the Presidents Leadership Class after retiring in 2013. Most recently, in 2024, he has been providing training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in military planning, troop leading procedures, and leadership, conducting this training in Ukraine itself. This interview was conducted as part of the UW-Madison Archives and Record Management's Badger Veterans Oral History Project.