Don Plater

Don Plater serves as Treasurer of the Emerald Coast Military Affairs Council. He began his career in the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1973 as a Distinguished Military Graduate, retiring in 2003 as a Colonel after commanding at the battery, battalion, squadron, and brigade levels around the globe. His military career culminated as Staff Group Chief and Executive Officer to the G-4 of the U.S. Army in the Pentagon. As a civilian, Don went on to hold senior leadership roles across the defense community, including Deputy Director of Strategy and Integration for Army G-4 at the Pentagon, Assistant Chief of Staff and later Executive Director of Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, and — in his final role before retiring in 2024 — Executive Director of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field.