Richard F . Natonski " Richard F . Natonski " ' is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Commander of U . S . Marine Corps Forces Command . He assumed the post in August 2008 , having previously served as the United States Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Plans , Policies and Operations from 2006 . He retired at Marine Barracks 8th & I on 8 September 2010 . Biography . Richard Natonski graduated from the University of Louisville in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History , and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps . Upon completion of The Basic School in 1974 , Lieutenant Natonski served as a platoon commander and executive officer with Company H , 2nd Battalion , 4th Marines . There he participated in Non - Combatant Evacuation Operations in Cambodia ( Operation Eagle Pull ) and in South Vietnam ( Operation Frequent Wind ) . Transferring to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in July 1975 , Lieutenant Natonski was assigned as a series commander in Company A , 1st Recruit Training Battalion and subsequently as the battalion operations officer . In April 1978 , Captain Natonski was transferred to Marine Barracks , 8th and I , where he served as executive and commanding officer of Company B . Upon completion of this tour in Washington , D . C . in 1981 , he spent the summer as a platoon commander at Officer Candidates School prior to attending the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico , Virginia . In July 1982 , he was assigned as the operations officer for 1st Battalion , 5th Marines at Camp Pendleton , California . Subsequent to his tour in the 1st Marine Division , Major Natonski was transferred to Headquarters Marine Corps in July 1984 , where he served in the Ground Combat Requirements Branch of the Plans , Policy , and Operations Department . From 1987 to 1988 , he attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College . Following his instruction at Quantico , he was assigned as an Observer to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East . Upon completion of this tour in June 1989 , he was transferred to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point , North Carolina , where he was assigned as the G - 3 plans officer . In July 1991 , Lieutenant Colonel Natonski was transferred to 2nd Marine Division , where he served as the executive officer of the 2nd Marine Regiment until assuming command of 1st Battalion , 2nd Marines in May 1992 . As commanding officer , he participated in Operation GTMO , a humanitarian relief mission for Haitian migrants in Cuba and Operations Restore Hope and Operation Continue Hope in Somalia . He completed his tour in the Division as the deputy G - 3 . From 1994 to 1995 he attended the NATO Defense College in Rome , Italy . Colonel Natonski served in the II Marine Expeditionary Force Operations Section until assuming command of 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit ( MEU ) in October 1995 . Colonel Natonski made two deployments as MEU commander supporting operations in Bosnia and Kuwait . In May 1998 , he gave up command of the MEU and reported to the Joint Staff in The Pentagon where he was assigned duties as the chief of the Central Command Division , Joint Staff ( J - 3 ) Operations Directorate and subsequently the Deputy Director for Operations in the National Military Command Center . Following his tour on the Joint Staff , Brigadier General Natonski served first as the Director of the Strategy and Plans Division and then as the Director of the Operations Division in the Plans , Policies , and Operations Department of Headquarters Marine Corps . Brigadier General Natonski assumed command of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade ( MEB ) in June 2002 . From January to June 2003 the MEB deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . During this operation 2nd MEB was redesignated as Task Force Tarawa and employed as the lead ground maneuver element under I Marine Expeditionary Force . They fought the Battle of Nasiriyah and participated in the rescue of Jessica Lynch . Major General Natonski assumed command of the 1st Marine Division in August 2004 , while in Iraq . There he led the ground maneuver element under I MEF through counter insurgency operations , the Battle of Fallujah ( Operation Al – Fajr ) , and the Iraqi National Elections in January 2005 . On 12 June 2006 , the Secretary of Defense announced that President George W . Bush had nominated MajGen Natonski for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general , to be assigned as the Deputy Commandant , Plans , Policies , and Operations . Natonski became Deputy Commandant on 7 November 2006 upon the retirement of LtGen . Jan Huly and received his third star . He served in this post until August 2008 when he assumed command of U . S . Marine Corps Forces Command . On 8 September 2010 , Gen . James T . Conway , the Commandant of the Marine Corps , presented Lt . Gen . Natonski with a signed letter from President Barack Obama thanking him for his service during his retirement ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington . Natonski served in the Marine Corps for 37 years . He retired as the most decorated Marine on active duty . Battle of Wanat investigation . On 30 September 2009 , US Central Command commander General David Petraeus appointed United States Marine Corps Lieutenant General Richard F . Natonski to lead a new inquiry into the battle and which would look into related issues " beyond the tactical level . " General Natonski ' s review " focused on the totality of circumstances that included and affected actions at Wanat " , including interviews of the officers involved , and reviews of previous investigations with the exception of the Fort Leavenworth Combat Studies Institute ( CSI ) narrative — stating that it had " not undergone pre - publication vetting and academic review in accordance with standing CSI research protocols " . In June 2010 , upon the conclusion of Natonski ' s investigation , Army General Charles C . Campbell revoked the reprimands , citing that they would have a " chilling effect " on ground operations . The " Army said that the second look at the incident proved that the officers were ' neither negligent nor derelict ' and that ' their actions were reasonable under the circumstances . ' " Awards and decorations . Lieutenant General Natonski ' s decorations include :