In October 1973, he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., for duty as the assistant majors' monitor. During October 1976, he reported to the 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, where he served as operations officer, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines; executive officer, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines; and division staff secretary. He was promoted to major on November 1, 1977. In August 1979, he reported to the Marine Corps Command and Staff College as a student.
1980–1988
Upon completion of school in June 1980, he was assigned duty as commanding officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Station, Buffalo, New York. While in this assignment, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October 1982. Reassigned to the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Pace served from June 1983 until June 1985 as commanding officer, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. In June 1985, he was selected to attend the National War College in Washington, D.C.
After graduation the following June, he was assigned to the Combined/Joint Staff in Seoul, South Korea. He served as chief, Ground Forces Branch until April 1987, when he became executive officer to the assistant chief of staff, C/J/G3, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea/Eighth United States Army. Pace returned to Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., in August 1988 for duty as commanding officer. He was promoted to colonel in October 1988.
1990s
Pace as a brigadier general in 1992.
In August 1991, Pace was assigned duty as chief of staff, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune. During February 1992, he was assigned duty as assistant division commander. He was advanced to brigadier general on April 6, 1992, and was assigned as president of the Marine Corps University and commanding general of Marine Corps Schools at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Virginia, on July 13, 1992. While serving in this capacity, he also served as deputy commander, Marine Forces, Somalia, from December 1992 to February 1993, and as the deputy commander, Joint Task Force – Somalia from October 1993 to March 1994. Pace was advanced to major general on June 21, 1994, and was assigned as the deputy commander/chief of staff, U.S. Forces, Japan. He was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as the director for operations (J-3), Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., on August 5, 1996.
Pace served as the commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic/Europe/South from November 23, 1997, to September 8, 2000.
On his nomination, Pace said, "This is an incredible moment for me. It is both exhilarating and humbling. It's exhilarating because I have the opportunity, if confirmed by the Senate, to continue to serve this great nation. It's humbling because I know the challenges ahead are formidable."[5]
On June 29, 2005, Pace appeared before the Armed Services Committee for consideration of his nomination[6] and was later confirmed by the Senate. On September 30, 2005, Pace was sworn in as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[7]
General Pace meeting with soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq in December 2006
On November 29, 2005, Pace was present at a press conference given by US Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld, where Rumsfeld said that "the United States does not have a responsibility" to prevent torture by Iraqi officials. Pace drew a distinction between the national responsibility of the United States and the responsibility of individual service members, saying "It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it".[8][9]
In 2006 Pace was named Grand Marshal of New York City's Columbus Day parade.
In a 2007 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Pace was asked about the don't ask, don't tell policy and said "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts... I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by a saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way." The comments sparked backlash from legislators such as Senator John Warner, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Marty Meehan. Pace later said he regretted the comments and that they were his "personal moral views."[10][11]
After White House officials asserted that Iran was supplying insurgents in Iraq with munitions, Pace questioned the validity of the claim in a February 2007 press conference. Specifically, Pace questioned the existence of direct evidence linking the Iranian government to the supply of the weapons, explosively formed penetrators.[12]
On June 8, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he would advise the President to not renominate Pace because of concerns about contentious confirmation hearings in Congress. The President instead nominated the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Mullen, to replace Pace.[1][13][14] On October 1, 2007, Pace officially retired at Fort Myer, Virginia.[15]
On one of his last days before retirement, Pace gave a speech at Chaminade High School on Long Island, the high school of the first Marine who died under his command in Vietnam, Guido Farinaro.[16]
After his retirement ceremony, Pace visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. There, he left handwritten notes in memory of each of the Marines who died under his command while he was a platoon leader in Vietnam, with a set of his general's rank insignia attached to each one.[17][18][19] Each note was similar to this one:
These are yours – not mine! With love and respect, your platoon leader, Pete Pace.
On October 1, 2007, the editors of the National Review encouraged Virginia voters to draft Pace to run in 2008 for the Senate seat to be vacated by retiring Senator John Warner. The magazine cited Pace's conservative Catholic beliefs in making its suggestion.[20]
On April 3, 2008, private equity firm Behrman Capital announced that Pace had joined the firm as an operating partner and been named chairman of the board of Behrman portfolio company, Pelican Products.[21][22] He was also named a director of ILC Industries, Inc., also a Behrman company.[23]
Pace also currently serves on the Secretary of Defense's Policy Board,[24] and as chairman of the board for Wall Street Warfighters Foundation,[25] an organization founded by principals of Drexel Hamilton that provides training support and job placement services for disabled veterans interested in careers in the financial services industry.
Pace became chair of the board of trustees for the Naval Institute Foundation on January 31, 2017.[28] Founded in 1873, the US Naval Institute provides an independent forum for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
During the 2006 Congressional Medal of Honor Society meeting, Gen. Pace was awarded the society's Patriot Award, which is presented annually to a "distinguished American who has exemplified the ideals that make this country strong. Their dedication to freedom, their love for fellow man, their allegiance to our flag and a full understanding of its demands, accepted without reservation".[38]
Pace was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Naval Academy on March 6, 2009, at the Naval Academy's 11th annual Distinguished Graduate Award Medal Ceremony.[45]
Charles Chandler Krulak is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1999. He is the son of Lieutenant General Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He was the 13th President of Birmingham-Southern College after his stint as a non-executive director of English association football club Aston Villa.
James Logan Jones Jr. is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general and consultant who served as the 21st United States National Security Advisor from 2009 to 2010. During his military career, he served as the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1999 to January 2003, and Commander, United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2003 to 2006. Jones retired from the Marine Corps on February 1, 2007, after 40 years of service.
The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of a chairman (CJCS), a vice chairman (VJCS), the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Each of the individual service chiefs, outside their JCS obligations, works directly under the secretaries of their respective military departments, e.g. the secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of the Air Force.
James Terry Conway is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Among his previous postings were Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commanding General of 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force, taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the First Battle of Fallujah.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the secretary of defense. While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other commissioned officers, the chairman is prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the armed forces; however, the chairman assists the president and the secretary of defense in exercising their command functions.
The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the U.S. military. It increased the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from the Packard Commission, commissioned by President Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders, bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense, and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.
Edmund Peter Giambastiani Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the seventh vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007. He retired in 2007, after 37 years of service.
James Edward "Hoss" Cartwright is a retired United States Marine Corps general who last served as the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007, to August 3, 2011. He previously served as the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, from September 1, 2004, to August 10, 2007, and as Acting Commander, U.S. Strategic Command from July 9, 2004, to September 1, 2004. He retired from the Marine Corps on August 3, 2011, after nearly 40 years of service.
Michael Glenn Mullen is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2007 to September 2011.
The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation under the command of the unified combatant commanders. The Marine Corps is organized into four principal subdivisions: Headquarters Marine Corps, the Operating Forces, the Supporting Establishment, and the Marine Forces Reserve.
Kevin M. Sandkuhler is an American lawyer, and retired brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps. His 2003 memo expressing concerns about the US interrogation of terrorism suspects, released in 2005 after a declassification request by Senator Lindsey Graham, received national and international attention.
William L. "Spider" Nyland, a veteran of the Vietnam War, is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star General who served as the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2005. He retired from the Marine Corps in November 2005 after over 37 years of distinguished service.
The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) is the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) position overall in the United States Armed Forces. The SEAC is appointed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as a spokesperson to address the issues of enlisted personnel to the highest positions in the Department of Defense. As such, the SEAC is the primary enlisted advisor to the chairman, and serves at the pleasure of the secretary of defense. The SEAC's exact duties vary, depending on the chairman, though the SEAC generally devotes much of their time traveling throughout the Department of Defense, to observe training and communicating to service members and their families. The SEAC's normal term of assignment runs concurrently with the chairman, but an incumbent may be reappointed to serve longer. The first member to hold this post was William Gainey. The current SEAC is Troy E. Black, USMC who assumed the duties on 3 November 2023.
Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2019. He was the 36th commandant of the Marine Corps. Dunford is the first Marine Corps officer to serve in four different four-star positions; the others include commander of the International Security Assistance Force and United States Forces – Afghanistan from February 2013 to August 2014, and as the thirty-second assistant commandant of the Marine Corps from October 23, 2010 to December 15, 2012. He has commanded several units, including the 5th Marine Regiment during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Clifford Lee Stanley was the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, having resigned that office in 2011.
Troy E. Black is a United States Marine who has served as the 5th senior enlisted advisor to the chairman since November 3, 2023. He was the 19th sergeant major of the Marine Corps from July 2019 to August 2023.
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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