James T. Conway

Infobox Military Person
name= James Terry Conway
born=
died=
placeofbirth= Walnut Ridge, Arkansas
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption= 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps (2006 - present)
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United States United States of America
branch=United States Marine Corps
serviceyears= 1970 - present
rank= General
commands= 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines The Basic School 1st Marine Division I Marine Expeditionary Force Commandant of the Marine Corps
unit=
battles= Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom *Operation Vigilant Resolve
awards= Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Defense Meritorious Service Medal
laterwork=
General James Terry Conway, USMC (born December 26, 1947) is the 34^th and current Commandant of the Marine Corps. [cite web
url=https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/gosa/biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=117&PERSON_TYPE=General
title=Official Biography:General James T. Conway
work=Biographies: General Officers & Senior Executives
publisher=United States Marine Corps
accessdate=2007-08-30 ] [cite news|url=http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,118890,00.html
title=New Marine Corps Commandant Welcomed
date=November 13, 2006
work=Military Times
author=American Forces Press Service
accessdate=2006-11-13] [cite news
url=http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41483
title=Conway becomes Marine Corps Commandant
date=Jeff Schogol
date=November 13, 2006
work=Stars and Stripes
accessdate=2006-11-13] 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.

Biography

Gen. 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 (CVA-63)|USS "Kitty Hawk"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., Gen. 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." [Murray, Williamson & Scales, Robert H. (2003). ‘’The Iraq War: A Military History.’’p. 65. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01280-1] .

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. [cite news
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-06-13T213646Z_01_N13455615_RTRUKOC_0_US-ARMS-USA-MARINES.xml&archived=False
author=Will Dunham
title=Marine Corps to get a new top general
publisher=Reuters
date=June 13, 2006
accessdate=2006-06-13] ; the nomination was confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2006. [cite news
url=http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1998645.php
title=Conway confirmed as new commandant
date=August 3, 2006
work=Marine Corps Times
accessdate=2006-08-03]

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 married to the former Annette Drury and has three children.

Awards and Decorations

Conway has been decorated for service, to include:

Notes

ee also

[http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/CONWAY_JT.htm Who's Who in Marine Corps History: General James T. Conway, USMC]

References

*cite web|url=http://www.usmc.mil/cmc/34cmc.nsf/cmcmain
title=Official Homepage of the Commandant of the Marine Corps
publisher=United States Marine Corps
accessdate=2006-11-18

*cite news
url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/mideast.nsf/0/640DFF288571695286256CC7007B57B8?OpenDocument
title=Preparing for war with Iraq
format=Biographical sketch of Gen. Conaway
author=Ron Harris
work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch
date=February 8, 2003
accessdate=2006-06-24