Bush To Name Marine To Lead Joint Chiefs

[GySgtRet]

Lock-n-Load,

He is a very dynamic Marine and a very dynamic personnality. He may fool people around the world. If you have ever been in his presents for any amount of time you will enjoy his presents.

Semper Fidelis

[Lock-n-Load]

Agreed...he is above politics to get where he is now, many high ranking members of our Armed Forces matriculating at the Pentagon are in for one hellava surprise to their cushy assignments...Pres GW Bush continues to rise to the occasion, of placing excellent choices to guide our foreign policy [our Military, too]...there is much disorder and subtefuge across the waters...I feel secure with Marine General Pace in charge of the Military at the Beltway. Again, Gen Pace hasn't gotten to where he rightfully belongs without having protected his back...the Beltway is full of intrigues...God speed our Marine Gen. Peter Pace...Semper Fi, Marines [FMF].

[yellowwing]

Hey, if we have Gen Pace as JCS and LCpl Lake in Iraq, where can we go wrong!

[GySgtRet]

yellowwing,

Hey that is a good combination.

[GySgtRet]

WTSands,

I do know that General Pace came to Viet Nam as a Lt and after his tour he wound up at 8th & I as "A" company commander. I was thing that he was in the ist MARDIV but I am not quite sure of that. I do know that he served with 5th Marines after serving in Korea as attache to the Soul embassy. I just cannot remeber what platoon he was in during Viet Nam.

yellowwing,

I liked the article. That is a man that isn't affraid to tell thiings the way that they are. It was a very good gathering and he is indeed a very congenial person. As I said before very dynamic Marine.

Semper Fidelis

[yellowwing]

The complete honsty of what needs to be done might be refreshing.

$83 million for supplemental armor for Humvees and personale, might be an easier sell than $3.4 BILLION for F-22 development.

IMO the F-22 is needed to maintain carte-blanche air superiority. But doggone, that is a hell of a price tag!

[GySgtRet]

The Air Force is the onmes that want the F-22 not Dep of the Navy. The Marine Corps will make do with what they have with proven platforms that allready work for the Marine Corps.

[yellowwing]

Sheet, the Airwing would be happy and content to keep flying the F-8 Crusader if they had no choice!

[P. M. SHEEHAN]

First of all, "eyes right" for Gen Peter Pace.
I'm a bit confused however. As we all know, the Marine Corps is part of the Navy. In the past, a Marine General would attend meetings of the Joint Chiefs as a "courtesy" but had no voting power. This was reserved for the Navy. As Chairman, I would assume that Gen. Pace would be able to vote only in case of a tie.which I believe is the traditional function of the Chairman regardless of what service he comes from. In essence, the Navy will retain it's authority to vote.
I hope I haven't confused anyone. Any Comments?

[Tom Hansen]

That ended in the early Sixties, a long time ago.......

[sgt.lane]

It is about time a Marine held that post....!!!!!

[GySgtRet]

sgt.lane,

I couldn't agree with you more. The problem with General Pace being in his postition is he does not represent the Marine Corps. But I suspect that he will anyway or atleast get some good and needed influence in congress, the senate, and the DoD.

Semper Fidelis

[thedrifter]

Gen. Pace prizes his military roots
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Published: Sat, Apr 23, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - On the desk of Gen. Peter Pace is a photo of the first Marine who died following Pace's orders: Lance Cpl. Guido Farinaro, killed in combat in Vietnam in 1968 when the general was a lieutenant.

That photo is a sign of his devotion to the troops, President Bush said Friday, naming Pace to serve as the nation's top military officer, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"I've come to rely on Peter Pace's wisdom, judgment and sense of humor," said Bush, noting Pace's tenure as the vice chairman. "We'll need his wisdom and determination as we continue to transform our armed forces so we can defeat today's enemies while preparing ourselves for military challenges we will face as this new century unfolds."

Since becoming vice chairman Oct. 1, 2001, Pace has quietly helped shape the Pentagon's role in the global war on terrorism. If he is approved by the Senate, he will take command of a military fighting guerrilla wars in Iraq and Afghanistan even as it reshapes itself toward Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's vision of a lighter, more flexible force.

The selection of Pace signals no stark change in direction from the command of his boss, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, due to retire Sept. 30 after four years on the job. In the past, vice chairmen have focused on weapons acquisition, but Pace has said 80 percent of his duties are devoted to operations in the war on terrorism.

In a ceremony at the White House, Pace thanked Bush for his "trust and faith in me." He said the promotion was "exhilarating," but added, "I know the challenges ahead are formidable."

Pace, 59, is expected to win Senate confirmation easily. He is the first Marine to be named chairman.

"He's been such a faithful executor and supporter of Rumsfeld's priorities," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think tank. "He is a thoughtful but loyal subordinate."

Pace is described by subordinates as warm and sincere, with a humble charisma and sense of humor. In conversation, he drives home a point by putting it in terms of the common soldier, describing things "from Pfc. Pace's point of view."

The combat operations Pace has played a direct role in - Vietnam, Somalia, and the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - are not regarded as among America's clearest military victories.

In Vietnam, as an officer fresh out of the Naval Academy in 1968, he commanded a rifle platoon and saw action in Hue City.

In a speech last year, he described the experience: "I learned about being scared. I promise you there were times when I tried and wished I could climb up inside my helmet and have my mother come find me and take me home."

But a greater fear - of letting down the Marines under his command and those who served before him - kept him in the fight, he said.

During the speech, he recalled his soldiers who were killed in action.

"Those men took my orders in combat and as a result, died for their country. I owe them a debt I can never repay," he said.

The son of an Italian immigrant, Pace was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in Teaneck, N.J. Pace and his wife, Lynne, have a daughter, Tiffany Marie, and a son, Peter, a captain in the Marine reserves.

After returning from Vietnam in 1969, he held a number of ceremonial and educational posts in the military. He was stationed in South Korea in the mid-1980s. His official biography mentions no service in the first Iraq war.

From December 1992 to February 1993, he was deputy commander of the Marine forces that averted further famine in Somalia; from October 1993 to March 1994, he returned to assist in supervising the withdrawal of U.S. forces after the "Black Hawk Down" firefight.

He was promoted to four-star general in 2000, when he took over the U.S. Southern Command, the military command that oversees operations in Latin America.


Ellie

[P. M. SHEEHAN]

There have been many changes as to functioning of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most sweeping being the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1983. For an interesting read, go to www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/history/jcspart1.pdf