Combat commandant

[thedrifter]

June 26, 2006
Combat commandant
Battlefield presence, diverse background have Conway in line to become Corps’ top officer

By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer

He’s outspoken and demanding, and those close to him joke that he attracts trouble on the battlefield. But Marines say he’ll send them only to places that he himself would go.

And now, he might be the next boss.

President Bush nominated Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of operations for the Joint Staff, to become the 34th Marine Corps commandant, in a move widely hailed by peers, defense officials, politicians and grunts alike.


Conway, 58, oversaw the push of Marine forces into Baghdad in March 2003, and again during the Battle of Fallujah more than a year later — then bluntly and publicly criticized senior leaders for decisions they made to halt the mission his Marines were given before the job was complete.

But that did not appear to hurt his career. With a 6-foot-6-inch frame and a husky voice, Conway has been a reassuring presence in a Pentagon that has struggled to articulate positive messages to the public about the war in Iraq.

If his nomination is approved by the Senate, Conway would succeed Gen. Mike Hagee, whose four-year term is due to expire in January. But Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, indicated Conway, if confirmed, could be in the commandant’s chair as early as November.

Conway is a “superb” officer, Pace said during a visit to Capitol Hill on June 13.

The Conway nomination comes as the Corps faces one of its biggest leadership and public-relations challenges in decades.

Officials are completing an investigation into an incident in which Marines may have killed two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians in the city of Hadithah in November.

Three officers, including the battalion commander, have been relieved, and a dozen other Marines are under investigation. The incident has raised questions about who knew what, when they knew it and, if there was wrongdoing, how far up the chain of command it went.

Hagee, who has not been implicated in the matter, recently traveled to Iraq to re-emphasize Marine core values to the troops. Defense officials said the timing of Conway’s nomination to succeed Hagee has nothing to do with the investigation or any charges that may result against the Marines involved.

“It has no tie to Hadithah,” Pace said, adding that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began interviewing candidates for the nomination process months ago in anticipation of a change-of-command ceremony late this year.

But whatever challenges may lie ahead for the Corps, Conway is widely seen as the man to lead the 230-year-old institution.

His nomination drew accolades from all the predictable places — and a few that were not so predictable.

Known as “Marine’s Marine” with a thoughtful, paternal instinct, Conway impressed one young corporal on the battlefield for his courage and fearlessness.

Sgt. Matthew Hammond, a 27-year-old military police officer who was assigned to Conway’s security detail in Iraq in 2004, said he was struck by Conway’s willingness to wade into the thick of things.

“Where the troops were, that’s where General Conway was,” Hammond said in a June 14 phone interview from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Hammond, then a corporal, recalls an attack at a checkpoint in which Conway led his Marines despite a barrage of indirect-fire attacks.

“When we talk about leadership by example, that always comes to mind,” said Hammond, who praised Conway despite the fact that he will never forget being “chewed out” by the general one day when Conway wanted information — and Hammond did not yet have all the answers.

“He was very demanding, but at the same time, he was very fair,” Hammond said.

The fact that Conway was on the scene of an attack comes as no surprise to those who know him. Many often joked that he was a magnet for attacks, in part because he spent so much time with Marines on the battlefield.

“He was going to be out there regardless,” said Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, sergeant major of I Marine Expeditionary Force, who served alongside Conway for about five months in Iraq in 2004. “Incoming, small-arms [fire], he didn’t care about that.”

Carlton said Conway was a “sergeant major’s dream,” in part because he is a good listener who will take care of Marines.

“You could be candid with him, because he could be candid with you,” Kent said.

Others who are less knowledgeable about Conway’s battlefield feats than with his reputation inside the Beltway also praised the general for his diverse background and Pentagon know-how.

“He will be absolutely a magnificent commandant,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England in a brief June 13 interview on Capitol Hill. “We are blessed and fortunate as a nation to have somebody with his combat experience.”

England, a two-time former Navy secretary, called Conway a man of “great integrity.”

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will handle the nomination, said Conway’s diverse background makes him a good fit for commandant.

“He has command presence, developed over years of performing in the widest possible range of … assignments and challenges,” Warner said in a statement issued by his office. “He has the vision and leadership skills necessary to further adapt the Marine Corps to meet the ever-changing security threats that face our nation, particularly in the war on terror.”

Conway’s confirmation process is expected to go smoothly, and Warner said his committee will schedule a hearing soon.

Change of command

When Hagee was nominated to become the Corps’ top officer, some were surprised. Hagee was not well known around the Corps and had kept a low profile as commander of I MEF at Pendleton.

Better-known generals, such as Lt. Gen. Emil “Buck” Bedard, a former top planner for the Corps, and Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson, commander of Marine Forces Pacific, had been on the short list before Hagee got the nod.

However, Conway’s nomination comes as little surprise to senior Pentagon officials, who have long thought he was Rumsfeld’s top choice among the Corps’ 14 three-star contenders.

Other Marines thought to have gotten a look this time from Rumsfeld are Lt. Gen. Robert Blackman Jr., commander of U.S. Marine Forces Command, Norfolk, Va.; and Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of I MEF at Pendleton.

For the last several decades, change-of-command ceremonies for commandants have been held in the summer every four years. But when Hagee took office in January 2003, replacing Gen. James Jones, who left the job six months early to take over as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the normal tour schedule was thrown off.

Now, it seems that Conway, if confirmed, would take command two or three months earlier, allowing Hagee to retire just shy of a normal four-year tour.

Conway would inherit a Marine Corps battling to recapitalize itself after five long years of war and would have to help ensure that it stays on track to recruit, train and retain thousands of Marines.

Although retention rates remain high, there is concern that multiple deployments could make it difficult to recruit and retain quality leathernecks.

At the same time, the Corps will begin sending as many as 2,200 seasoned Marines to form a new element of the U.S. Special Operations Command, which will temporarily strain Corps resources.

Cotton at 3 cents a pound

Conway was born in Jonesboro, Ark., on Dec. 26, 1947, to a family of modest means. The first son in his family to finish high school and complete college, Conway told a newspaper reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in March 2003 of picking cotton as a boy with his mother for 3 cents a pound.

Conway’s father, James E. Conway, a World War II veteran who was wounded three times in Europe, worked as a machinist for years, and his mother, Ruby, was a seamstress, according to the paper.

The family moved from Arkansas to St. Louis in 1958, allowing Conway to attend high school and college in the area.

Conway always wanted to serve in the military and joined the Corps out of a sense of duty to his country, he told the newspaper.

As he ascended the career military ladder, Conway was considered for a job as a military assistant to former President Ronald Reagan. Although he said he would have accepted the assignment at the time, Conway told interviewers he would rather not take it because it would have come after a 13-month deployment and would have required him to be away from home too much, according to the article.

That was not the only time Conway would speak his mind. Before leaving command of I MEF in late 2004, Conway raised some eyebrows by criticizing senior leaders for their decisions regarding U.S. operations in Fallujah in April of that year.

After four civilian contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated earlier that spring, Conway recommended targeted attacks in Fallujah as part of a broader plan to calm the restive region. Instead, he was ordered to take Marines into the city as part of a massive insurgent-clearing operation — only to be ordered to pull out before their work was done.

“Would our system have been better? Would we have been able to bring over the people of Fallujah with our methods? You’ll never know that for sure, but at the time, we certainly thought so,” he said at the time, adding that the initial attack on the western city exacerbated the growing insurgency.

“When we were told to attack Fallujah, I think we certainly increased the level of animosity that existed,” Conway said.

Family chow call

Conway has two sons who are Marine officers and who have served in Iraq.

Several officers who worked around the general remarked how the senior Conway was always particularly happy when he knew he would meet his sons for chow. It was striking to see the men serving and eating together, and perhaps advising each other on what will likely become a renowned battle one day, said one former officer.

“I remember that picture, of him sitting across from his son, and thinking, ‘That’s got to be wild,’” said Darlan Harris, a former lieutenant who served as a watch officer in Fallujah under Conway.

Another officer who worked for Conway summed him up as someone who simply inspires Marines.

“When you work around him, you’re thinking you don’t want to let this guy down,” said the officer. “He seems to have that impact on just about anybody.”

Ellie

[ssgtt32]

I think i served with this Officer, the name seems familiar where can i find a pic and bio? Anyone!

Maurice

[kentmitchell]

Let's bypass Commandant and elect this guy president. He's just what the country needs.

[Osotogary]

http://www.usmc.mil/genbios2.nsf/bio...A?opendocument

Good picture .

[ssgtt32]

thats whay i know him, he was the G-3 OpsO, and worked in G-3 Ops for 2d FSSG! thanks for the info Gary!

Maurice

[ssgtt32]

sry, He was the G-3 OpsO, for 2d MarDiv and i worked in G-3 Ops, 2d FSSG. have to proof my posts...LOL

Maurice

[lovdog]

Sounds like a pretty solid resume under the General's belt!! I was beginning to wonder about his credentials up until the last three words of the write-up -
graduated from Air War College with honors.
To be an effective Commandant - ya gotta know how the Air Wing portion of the mix operates - and how to use it to your advantage.
Now, if he can just get the Navy to give us some good aircraft instead of junk they gave us in Nam - perhaps we can get the job done in a more efficient manner!! No problem though, the Swabbies always made sure we had enough bailing wire to hold the parts together. Sure hope things have changed in 35 or so years!!
Maybe he'll catch the Defense Department Team all sleeping at the next Congressional Hearing & end up making the Marine Corps a separate enity - wouldn't that be a hoot!! SF

[redneck13]

I wonder how he will get along with Rummy Dummy? Maybe he'll fire one across his bow!!! I hope he don't get entangled with all the political crap, and when he tells Rum Dum something, I'll just betchya he'll get what he wants. We need a "HARD CORE MARINE AS COMMANDANT." I just wish we could vote for all appointments. Go get 'em Commandant, Sir.....SF