John M. Paxton, Jr.

John M. Paxton, Jr.
Paxton in January 2013
Born	(1951-06-25) June 25, 1951 Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1974–present
Rank	General
Commands held	II Marine Expeditionary Force^[1] 1st Marine Division
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal (2) Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (2)

John M. Paxton, Jr. (born June 25, 1951) is a United States Marine Corps general who currently serves as the 33rd Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Prior to current assignment, he served as the Commanding General of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM); Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic (FMFlant); Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe, as well as II Marine Expeditionary Force.^[1]

Previously, Paxton was Director, J3 - Operations, The Joint Staff and Chief of Staff, Multinational Forces-Iraq. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced on March 13, 2008, Paxton's nomination for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general, and for assignment as Director, Strategic Plans & Policy, J-5, The Joint Staff. On May 22, 2007, Paxton relinquished command of the 1st Marine Division to take the role of Chief of Staff for Multi-National Force-Iraq.^[2]

Early life and education

Born in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1951, Paxton attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, earning both a bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Civil Engineering. He was elected to the Sphinx Head Society during his senior year. Moreover, he was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity throughout his undergraduate years at Cornell. Upon completion of Officer Candidates School, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974.

In addition to The Basic School, his professional education includes U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School (non-resident), U.S. Army Infantry Officer Advanced Course, and the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. From 1994 to 1995 Paxton was a Federal Executive Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. He has also been a Marine Corps Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Seminar XXI.

Career

Paxton (left) turns over command of the 1st Marine Division on May 22, 2007.

Paxton speaking in April 2012.

Paxton speaking in March 2013.

Upon completion of The Basic School, Paxton was ordered to Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia and then assigned as a Rifle Platoon Commander in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 1st Marine Brigade, Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Paxton has served twice with the 1st Marine Division (3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and 1st Marines), once with the 2nd Marine Division (1st Battalion, 8th Marines), and twice with the 3rd Marine Division (1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines), commanding at the platoon, company, battalion and regimental levels. He commanded Battalion Landing Team 1/8 from April 1992 – June 1994. They deployed with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable and USS America (CV-66) Battle Group as Landing Force 6th Fleet (LF6F 2-93) and Joint Adaptive Task Force 93-2 in support of operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and later as United Nations Quick Reaction Force (QRF) in Mogadishu, Somalia.

In addition to command, Paxton has also served in Operations, Plans and Training (G3/S3) at the battalion, regiment, division (1st and 2nd Marine Divisions) and Marine Expeditionary Force (II-MEF) levels. Non-Fleet Marine Force tours included Commanding Officer Company B, Marine Barracks, 8th & I, Washington, D.C. (1980–81); Commanding Officer Marine Corps Recruiting Station New York, New York (1985–88); Strategic Plans Branch (PLS), Plans, Policies and Operations (PP&O) Department, Headquarters United States Marine Corps; and as Executive Assistant and Marine Corps Aide to the Under Secretary of the Navy (1996–97). General Paxton is a Joint Service Officer, having served at United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command in South Korea from 1989 to 1991 as Amphibious Operations Officer and Executive Officer, Crisis Action Team.

From June 1997 to June 1998, Paxton was the Assistant Chief of Staff G3 (Operations, Plans and Training). His next assignment, from June 1998 to June 2000, was commanding the 1st Marine Regiment. From 2000 to 2001, Paxton had a one-year tour as the United States Marine Corps Fellow (National Security Studies) at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. From July 2001 to August 2003, he was the Director, Programs Division (RP), and Assistant Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Programs and Resources (ADC,P&R), Headquarters Marine Corps.

From 2003 to 2006, Paxton served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Western Recruiting Region.

On May 22, 2007, Paxton relinquished command of the 1st Marine Division to Brigadier General Richard P. Mills.^[3] Paxton next served as the Chief of Staff to the commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq. Advanced to Lieutenant General in 2008, Paxton served initially as Director, Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff, then was nominated and confirmed to the Operations Directorate (J-3), where he served until appointment as CG, II MEF; and CG, Marine Forces, Africa. Before departing the Pentagon, Paxton also served as interim director, The Joint Staff.

Awards and decorations

Badge			Basic Parachutist Insignia
1st row			Defense Distinguished Service Medal	Legion of Merit w/ 1 award star
2nd row		Bronze Star	Defense Meritorious Service Medal	Meritorious Service Medal w/ 1 award star
3rd row		Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ 1 award star	Joint Meritorious Unit Award w/ 1 oak leaf cluster	Navy Unit Commendation w/ 1 service star
4th row	Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 2 service stars	National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ 1 service star
5th row	Iraq Campaign Medal w/ 1 service star	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal	Korea Defense Service Medal	Armed Forces Service Medal
6th row	Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 3 service stars	Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon w/ 1 service star	Marine Corps Recruiting Ribbon	United Nations Medal
Badge	Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

Paxton also holds the expert rifle and the sharpshooter pistol marksmanship badge.

References

1 2 "Taking the reins: Paxton assumes command of II Marine Expeditionary Force - The Globe: Top Stories". Camplejeuneglobe.com. 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
↑ Fuentes, Gidget (2007). "1st Marine Division to get interim boss". Marine Corps Times.
↑ LCpl Jerry Murphy (May 24, 2007). "New hands take charge of Blue Diamond". Marine Corps Times (United States Marine Corps). Retrieved 2013-08-21.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John M. Paxton, Jr..

Leadership of the United States Marine Corps

Commandants	Nicholas Burrows Wharton Gale Henderson Harris Zeilin McCawley Heywood Elliott Biddle Barnett Lejeune Neville Fuller Russell Holcomb Vandegrift Cates Shepherd Pate Shoup Greene Chapman Cushman Wilson Barrow Kelley Gray Mundy Krulak Jones Hagee Conway Amos Dunford Neller

Assistant Commandants	Cole Lejeune Long Neville Feland Williams Fuller Myers Russell McDougal Little H. Smith Vandegrift Barrett Keyser Schmidt Rockey Peck Turnage Shepherd O. Smith Silverthorn Thomas Pate Megee McCaul Munn Hayes Mangrum Chapman Walt McCutcheon R. Davis Anderson Jaskilka Barrow McLennan Kelley J. Davis Morgan Went J. R. Dailey Boomer Hearney Neal Dake Williams Nyland Magnus Amos Dunford Paxton

Sergeants Major	Bestwick Rauber McHugh Sweet J. W. Daily Puckett Black Massaro Crawford Cleary Sommers Overstreet Lee McMichael Estrada Kent Barrett Green

Secretary of the Navy (navbox) Four-star generals Headquarters Marine Corps Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.