James T. Conway
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| James Terry Conway | |
|---|---|
 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps (2006 - present) |
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| Place of birth | Walnut Ridge, Arkansas |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1970 - present |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines The Basic School 1st Marine Division I Marine Expeditionary Force Commandant of the Marine Corps |
| Battles/wars | Gulf War Iraq War *First Battle of Fallujah |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
General James Terry Conway, USMC (born December 26, 1947) is the 34th and current Commandant of the Marine Corps.[1][2][3] Among his previous postings were Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint Staff and Commanding General of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from 2002 through 2004 taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah, Iraq.
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[edit] Biography
James Conway was born in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, Missouri and then attended Southeast Missouri State University where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, graduating in 1969. He was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1970. His first assignment was command of a rifle platoon with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines out of Camp Pendleton. He also served as the Battalion's 106mm recoilless rifle platoon commander. Later he served as Marine Executive Officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63).
After graduating with honors from career-level officer school, Conway commanded two companies in the 2nd Marine Regiment's Operations and Security section. As a field grade officer, he commanded two companies of officer students and taught tactics at The Basic School. He then went on to serve as operations officer for the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit, with sea duty in the western Pacific and in contingency operations off Beirut, Lebanon.
Returning to the U.S., Conway was assigned as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving two years in that capacity. After graduating from top-level officer training, again with honors, he took command of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, and commanded the Battalion Landing Team in its eight-month deployment to Southwest Asia during Desert Storm.
After the war he was promoted to colonel, and assigned command of The Basic School. Promoted to Brigadier General in December 1995, he again was assigned to the JCS. After being promoted to Major General, he served as commander of the 1st Marine Division and as Deputy Commanding General of Marine Forces Central. He was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) on November 16, 2002. He commanded I MEF during two combat tours in Iraq. General Conway had 60,000 troops under his command, being U.S. Marines, soldiers, sailors, and British forces. In the book The Iraq War, Conway was described as, "big, buff, well read and well educated.....he represented all that was best about the new United States Marine Corps, which General Al Gray as the commandant had set up."[4]
In a press interview on May 30, 2003, General Conway was questioned about the failure at that point to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He replied, in part:
| “ | It was a surprise to me then, it remains a surprise to me now, that we have not uncovered weapons...It's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there....What the regime was intending to do in terms of its use of the weapons, we thought we understood—or we certainly had our best guess, our most dangerous, our most likely courses of action that the intelligence folks were giving us. We were simply wrong. But whether or not we're wrong at the national level, I think, still very much remains to be seen. | ” |
On June 13, 2006, LtGen Conway was nominated by President George W. Bush to become the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps;[5] the nomination was confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2006.[6]
On November 13, 2006, LtGen Conway was promoted to his current rank at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. (8th and I) and became General James Conway, 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He is the first Commandant in nearly 40 years to have not served in the Republic of Vietnam.
On June 11, 2009, Conway spoke at the National Press Club about the importance of maintaining the Amphibious assault ships to lift two Marine Expeditionary Brigades and the time "at home" away from the current wars to train for amphibious assault.[7]
He is married to the former Annette Drury, and they have three children.
[edit] Awards and Decorations
Conway has been decorated for service, to include:
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[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Official Biography:General James T. Conway". Biographies: General Officers & Senior Executives. United States Marine Corps. https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/gosa/biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=117&PERSON_TYPE=General. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ "New Marine Corps Commandant Welcomed". Military Times. American Forces Press Service. November 13, 2006. http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,118890,00.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
- ^ Schogol, Jeff (November 13, 2006). "Conway becomes Marine Corps Commandant". Stars and Stripes. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41483. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
- ^ Murray, Williamson & Scales, Robert H. (2003). ‘’The Iraq War: A Military History.’’p. 65. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01280-1
- ^ Dunham, Will (June 13, 2006). "Marine Corps to get a new top general". Reuters. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-06-13T213646Z_01_N13455615_RTRUKOC_0_US-ARMS-USA-MARINES.xml&archived=False. Retrieved on 2006-06-13.
- ^ "Conway confirmed as new commandant". Marine Corps Times. August 3, 2006. http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1998645.php. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
- ^ Marine Commandant Says Corps Fulfilled its Mission in Iraq
[edit] References
- "Official Homepage of the Commandant of the Marine Corps". United States Marine Corps. http://www.marines.mil/units/hqmc/cmc/Pages/default.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-01-21.
- Ron Harris (February 8, 2003). "Preparing for war with Iraq" (Biographical sketch of Gen. Conaway). St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/mideast.nsf/0/640DFF288571695286256CC7007B57B8?OpenDocument. Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
- "General James T. Conway, USMC". Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/CONWAY_JT.htm.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gen Michael Hagee |
Commandant of the United States Marine Corps August 2, 2006 – present |
Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by James E. Cartwright |
United States order of precedence as of 2008[update] |
Succeeded by George Casey |
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