his own positive comments regarding the
Usurper-in-Chief notwithstanding:
Posted on 06/15/2010 7:58:51 AM PDT by OldDeckHand
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that Gen. James Amos will be the next commandant of the Marine Corps, POLITICO has learned. Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford has been recommended to be assistant commandant.
President Obama has not yet nominated either individual, according to defense sources, but the recommendations were recently sent to the White House.
Amos, already the Corps’ No. 2 officer, would be the first aviator to lead the service. The selection of Amos is a huge upset since the choice was thought to be between two known infantry officers: Dunford, and Gen. James Mattis. Both men had long been considered frontrunners and brought to the job different reputations and backgrounds at a time when the Corps endeavors to re-establish its sea-service identity after more than eight years of fighting wars in largely landlocked regions.
Gates was expected to want a leader who would help focus that effort. But the deliberations over who would lead the Corps also included discussions on whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly as well as well as the future of the Corps’ favorite ground combat vehicle, the General Dynamics-made Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, say officials in and outside of the Pentagon.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
This is a huge mistake.
I’ve known General Amos for several years, and served with him overseas. He’s smart, focused, creative, and the right kind of man to lead the Corps through this period of changing warfare environments.
I met General Amos when I was 2dMAW Staff Sec. Good Marine, but not a grunt. The Commandant of the Marine Corps should only be harvested from the infantry.
Being appointed Barack Obama’s favorite Marine is a dubious honor at best. You could never live that down.
Oh boy, is that the truth.
I thought all Marines were trained riflemen, isn’t that a claim of the Corps?
General James F. Amos, USMC, is the 31st and current Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. A Naval aviator by trade, General Amos has held command at all levels from Lieutenant Colonel to Lieutenant General. Most notably he commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in combat during Operations Iraqi Freedom I and II from 2002-2004, followed by command of the II Marine Expeditionary Force from 2004-2006. He subsequently served as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command and as the Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration from 2006 to July 2008. General Amos was promoted to his present rank and assumed the duties of Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps on 2 July 2008.
Operational assignments include tours with Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 212, 235, 232 and 122 where he flew the F-4 Phantom II. In 1985 General Amos assumed command of Marine Wing Support Squadron 173. Later, transitioning to the F/A-18 Hornet, he assumed command of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312 and subsequently joined Carrier Air Wing Eight onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). General Amos took command of Marine Aircraft Group 31 Beaufort, SC in May 1996.
General Amos' staff assignments include tours with Marine Aircraft Groups 15 and 31, the III Marine Amphibious Force, Training Squadron Seven, The Basic School, and with the MAGTF Staff Training Program. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1998 he was assigned to NATO as Deputy Commander, Naval Striking Forces, Southern Europe, Naples Italy. During this tour he commanded NATO's Kosovo Verification Center, and later served as Chief of Staff, U.S. Joint Task Force Noble Anvil during the air campaign over Serbia. Transferred in 2000 to the Pentagon, he was assigned as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation. Reassigned in December 2001, General Amos served as the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations Department, Headquarters, Marine Corps.
Charles Krulak would disagree. He was a thorn in Slick Willie’s side and he relished it.
That's correct, including the cooks.
However, "trained rifleman" is not the same as "infantry".
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