Peter Pace

Infobox Military Person
name=Peter Pace


born= Birth date and age|1945|11|5
died=
placeofbirth=Brooklyn, New York
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|United States United States
branch=United States Marine Corps
serviceyears=1967 - 2007
rank=General
commands=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Southern Command 2nd Battalion 1st Marines
unit=
battles=Vietnam War Operation Restore Hope
awards=Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star with "Valor V" Defense Meritorious Service Medal
laterwork=

Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York) was the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first Marine appointed to the United States' highest-ranking military office. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Pace succeeded U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers on September 30, 2005.

The Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced on June 8, 2007, that he would advise the President not to renominate Pace for a second term. Pace stepped down as Chairman on October 1, 2007. He was replaced by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Mullen.cite news|accessdate=2007-06-08
url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10867870
title=Gen. Pace to Step Down as Chairman of Joint Chiefs
publisher=NPR |date=June 8, 2007] [cite press release
url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070628-1.html
title=President Bush Nominates Admiral Michael Mullen and General James Cartwright to Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
publisher=The White House
author=Office of the Press Secretary
date=June 28, 2007]

Personal background

Pace was born to Italian American parents and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School in 1963. He received his commission in June 1967, following graduation from the United States Naval Academy. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University. Pace currently resides in McLean, Virginia; he is married and has a son, Peter, and a daughter, Tiffany. Peter Pace, Junior, is currently a Captain in the Marine Corps Reserve. Pace is Roman Catholic. [citation|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070314-121537-6699r.htm |title= Pace clarifies gay comment as his 'personal moral views'|author= Jon Ward|date= 2007-03-14 |newspaper=The Washington Times |accessdate= 2007-06-18]

Military career

1968-1979

Upon completion of The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, in 1968, Pace was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam, serving first as Platoon Commander of Golf Company's Second Platoon and subsequently as assistant Operations Officer.

Returning from overseas in March 1969, he reported to Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.. During this tour, he served as Head, Infantry Writer Unit, Marine Corps Institute; Platoon Leader, Guard Company; Security Detachment Commander, Camp David; White House Social Aide; and Platoon Leader, Special Ceremonial Platoon. He was promoted to Captain in April 1971. In September 1971, Pace attended the Infantry Officers' Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. Returning overseas in October 1972, he was assigned to the Security Element, Marine Aircraft Group 15, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Namphong, Thailand, where he served as Operations Officer and then Executive Officer.

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

In August 1991, he 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.

2000s; Joint Chiefs of Staff

He was promoted to General and assumed duties as the Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command on September 8, 2000 until September 30, 2001, when he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On August 12, 2005, he was succeeded as Vice Chairman by Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani.

On April 22, 2005, at a White House press conference, President George W. Bush nominated Peter Pace to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The previous Chairman, Richard Myers, retired from the position on September 30, 2005.

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." [cite press release|accessdate=2007-03-12
url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050422.html
title=President Nominates General Pace as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
date=April 22, 2005
publisher=Office of the Press Secretary, The White House]

On June 29, 2005, Gen. Pace appeared before the Armed Services Committee for consideration of his nominationcite web|url=http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=1558
title=Hearing Schedule
publisher=United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
date=June 29, 2005] and was later confirmed by the Senate. On September 30, 2005, General Peter Pace was sworn in as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

On November 29, 2005, Gen. Pace was present at a press conference given by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, where Rumsfeld said that "the United States does not have a responsibility" to prevent torture by Iraqi officials. Pace disagreed with Rumsfeld, saying "It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it". [cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901405.html
title=Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents'
author=Dana Milbank
date=November 30, 2005|pages=Page A18] cite web|accessdate=2007-05-28
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1492
title=News Transcript:News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace
date=November 29, 2005|work=DefenseLink News
publisher=U.S. Department of Defense]

After White House officials asserted that Iran was supplying insurgents in Iraq with munitions, Gen. Pace questioned the validity of the claim in a February 2007 press conference. Specifically, Gen. Pace questioned the existence of direct evidence linking the Iranian Government to the supply of the weapons, explosively-formed penetrators.cite news
url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/13/pace.iran/index.html
title=Top general casts doubt on Tehran's link to Iraq militias
date=February 14, 2007
work=CNN]

In a March 12, 2007 discussion with editors of the "Chicago Tribune", Gen. Pace said, "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that [the U.S. military] should not condone immoral acts...I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is okay to be immoral in any way...As an individual, I would not want [acceptance of gay behavior] to be our policy." In the same discussion, however, Pace also said that he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of The Pentagon, in which gay men and women are allowed in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private. [cite news|accessdate=2007-03-12
url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070312pace,1,1786748,print.story?coll=chi-news-hed
title=Top general calls homosexuality 'immoral'
author=Aamer Madhani
publisher=Chicago Tribune
date=March 12, 2007] On March 13, 2007, Pace released a statement reading, "In expressing my support for the current policy, I also offered some personal opinions about moral conduct. I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views." [cite news|accessdate=2007-03-13
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=10601 |title=A Statement From Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |author=Peter Pace |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense |date=March 13, 2007]

Retirement

On June 8, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that he would advise the President not to renominate General Pace because of concerns about contentious confirmation hearings in the Democratic-controlled Congress. The President nominated the former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Mullen to replace Pace.cite news|accessdate=2007-06-08
url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10867870
title=Gen. Pace to Step Down as Chairman of Joint Chiefs
publisher=NPR |date=June 8, 2007] cite news|accessdate=2007-06-08
url=http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2007/06/gen_pace_out_as_chairman_of_jo.html
title=Gen. Pace out as Joint Chiefs chairman |author=James, Frank
date=June 8, 2007 |work=Chicago Tribune] cite news
accessdate=2007-06-08|url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqm/cqmidday110-000002528207.html
title=Pace Ousted as Joint Chiefs Chairman in Bid to Avert Senate Battle
work=Congressional Quarterly |date=June 8, 2007] On October 1, 2007, General Pace officially retired at Fort Myer, Virginia.cite web |accessdate=2007-10-02
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2007/Pace_Farewell/
title=Farewell to the Chairman, Marine General Peter Pace
work=DefenseLINK
publisher=U.S. Department of Defense] After the ceremony, Pace left to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall. There, he left seven handwritten notes dated for that day, with a set of his four-star General insignia attached to each one. [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0710/13/cnr.04.html] [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html] [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50258] Each note was similar to this one:

"For Guido Farinaro USMC 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 for the Senate seat that will be vacated by retiring Senator John Warner. The magazine cited Pace's conservative Catholic beliefs, and opined that Virginia should do as "National Review" recommended. cite web|accessdate=2007-10-02
url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Yjc5ZjY4MzY4NWM3MThkNDlmYzQ2MGFjMWQxZDcyMmU
title=Draft General Pace
author=The Editors
work=National Review
date=October 1, 2007] On October 2, 2007, the "Wall Street Journal"'s "Political Diary" ran a piece about Virginia Republicans attempting to persuade Gen. Pace to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner in 2008.citation needed|date=October 2007

On April 3, 2008, 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. cite web|accessdate=2008-06-28
url=http://powermoves.capitaliq.com/index.php/2008/04/03/behrman-capital-names-general-peter-pace-as-operating-partner/
title=Behrman Capital Names General Peter Pace as Operating Partner
work=Capital IQ Power Moves
date=April 3, 2008]

Dates of rank

*Second Lieutenant: 1967 – 1969
*First Lieutenant: 1969 – April 1971
*Captain: April 1971 – November 1977
*Major: November 1977 – October 1982
*Lieutenant Colonel: October 1982 – October 1988
*Colonel: October 1988 – April 6 1992
*Brigadier General: April 6 1992 – June 21 1994
*Major General: June 21 1994 – August 5 1996
*Lieutenant General: August 5 1996 – September 8 2000
*General: September 8 2000

Awards and decorations

Military and foreign awards

Gen. Pace's personal decorations include:Joint Chiefs of Staff Bio.]

Military badges include:
*Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
*Parachutist Badge
*Expert Rifle Shot Badge
*Expert Pistol Shot Badge

Foreign decorations include:
*Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm
*Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation with Palm
*United Nations Medal with bronze service star
*Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 date bar
*Korea: Order of National Security Merit Tongil Medal [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47067 Pace Receives South Korean Award, Thanks U.S. Service members, Aug 16, 2007]
*Japan: Grand Cordon, Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47099 Pace Receives Japanese Emperor’s Rising Sun Award, Aug 18, 2007]
*Japan: Order of the Sacred Treasures
*Canada: Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division) [http://gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5167 General Peter Pace awarded the Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division), Sep 6, 2007]
*Colombia: Order of the Cross of Boyaca (Orden de Cruz de Boyacá) [http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_dade/story/237948.html Gen. Pace pops by Southcom to say goodbye. "Miami Herald".]

Non-military awards

*In October 2004, the JCS Vice Chairman recevied the "Keeper of the Flame Award" by the Center for Security Policy. [cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=25118
title=Former Award Recipient Passes Flame to New Keeper
publisher=DefenseLink News
accessdate=2007-09-15]

*In October 2005, General Pace accepted the National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) "Special Achievement Award for Military Service". [cite web|url=http://www.niaf.org/news/index.asp?id=416
title=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Industry Titans Honored at NIAF Gala at Nation's Capital
publisher=National Itialian American Foundation
accessdate=2007-09-15]

*General Pace was awarded the 2005 "Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award" from the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). [cite web|url=http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/1366/documentid/3338/history/3,2359,2166,1366,3338
title=Top Military Officer Accepts Award ‘On Behalf of the 2.4 Million Americans Who Serve This Nation’
publisher=Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs
accessdate=2007-09-15]

*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". [cite web|url=http://www.mohboston2006.org/awards.htm
title=Congressional Medal of Honor Society Awards, 2006 Boston Convention
publisher=Congressional Medal of Honor Society
accessdate=2006-10-01]

*In April 2006, the John Carroll Society honored him with the "John Carroll Medal".cite web
url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19633
title=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs tells Carroll Society how he depends on God
author=Szczepanowski, Richard
date=April 28, 2006
work=Catholic Standard
accessdate=2008-01-09]

*In October 2006, Georgetown University honors General Pace with its "President's Medal". [cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=14904
title=Georgetown University Honors Joint Chiefs Chairman
author=Garamone, Jim
publisher=DefenseLink News
accessdate=2007-09-15]
*General Pace received the "Global Service Award" from the World Affairs Council.cite news|accessdate=2008-01-09
url=http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/4/5/162642.shtml
title=Gen. Peter Pace Accepts Global Service Award
date=April 5, 2006
publisher=NewsMax.com]

*General Pace received the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" on June 19, 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html
title=President Bush Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
author=White House Press Release
publisher=White House Website
accessdate=2008-06-20]

Quotations

*"The violence in Iraq will only subside once Iraqis begin loving their children more than they hate their enemy." --Testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee on 03 August 2006. [http://armed-services.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?wit_id=378&id=2035] Note that this is a rephrased version of a quote usually attributed to Golda Meir, referring to the wars between Israel and the Arab countries - "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us".

*On the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country". [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061019/pl_afp/usmilitarypolitics_061019193550 "Yahoo News"] , October 19, 2006.] cite news|accessdate=2007-05-28
url=http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/archives/2006/10/top_general_rum.html
date=October 20, 2006
title=Top General: Rumsfeld 'Leads In A Way That The Good Lord Tells Him'
work=Free Williamsburg]

*Referring to the American War in Iraq: "we are not winning, but we are not losing".

ee also

*List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals
*List of Historically Important U.S. Marines

Notes

References

:"This article incorporates text in the public domain from the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
*cite web|url=http://www.jcs.mil/cjs/history_files/bios/bio_pace.html
title=Biography General Peter Pace
publisher=Joint Chiefs of Staff
date=2007-10-01

External links

*cite web|accessdate=
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2007/Pace_Farewell/
title=Farewell to the Chairman — Marine Gen. Peter Pace
publisher=U.S. Department of Defense
*cite news |accessdage=2005-12-13
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4483690.stm
title=US general defends phosphorus use
work=BBC News
date=November 30, 2005 Peter Pace's statement concerning the use of White phosphorus in Iraq.
* [http://smawins.com/executive-management.htm General Pace's Current Corporate Bio and Position at SM&A]