Walsh graduated with honors from Jesuit College Preparatory in Dallas, Texas, and was the second student in the sixty-year history of the school to receive both the Distinguished Graduate and Distinguished Alumnus awards. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He attended graduate studies in the International Relations curriculum at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, as part of the Admiral Arthur S. Moreau Scholarship Program. Walsh graduated first in his class and received a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree, entered the Doctorate Program with distinction and subsequently received a PhD
On February 3, 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates selected Walsh to conduct a 30-day review of operations at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, following President Barack Obama's order that the detention center be closed within one year.
