James Cartwright James E . " Hoss " Cartwright ( born September 22 , 1949 ) is a retired United States Marine Corps four - star general who last served as the eighth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31 , 2007 to August 3 , 2011 . He previously served as the Commander , U . S . Strategic Command , from September 1 , 2004 to August 10 , 2007 , and as Acting Commander , U . S . Strategic Command from July 9 , 2004 to September 1 , 2004 . He retired from the Marine Corps on August 3 , 2011 after nearly 40 years of service . However , in June 2013 , it was made known ( by unspecified legal sources ) that he had been placed under a U . S . Justice Department investigation , in its early stages , having to do with an alleged leak of classified information regarding the Stuxnet virus , designed to target and ( at least temporarily ) disable Iranian nuclear centrifuges , as part of Operation Olympic Games . His attorney , Greg Craig , a former White House Counsel , stated that he had no comment ; the White House and the U . S . Justice Department also declined to comment . The role that Cartwright may have played was not specified . Early life and education . Cartwright was born on September 22 , 1949 in Rockford , Illinois and attended West High School before going on to the University of Iowa . Career . Cartwright was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U . S . Marine Corps in November 1971 . He attended Naval Flight Officer training and graduated in April 1973 . He attended Naval Aviator training and graduated in January 1977 . He has operational assignments as an Naval Flight Officer in the F - 4 , and as a pilot in the F - 4 , OA - 4 , and F / A - 18 . His callsign comes from the fictional character Eric ' Hoss ' Cartwright , the middle brother on the classic 1960s TV show " Bonanza " , who was played by actor Dan Blocker . Cartwright ' s operational assignments include : Commanding General , 1st Marine Aircraft Wing ( 2000 – 2002 ) , Deputy Commanding General Marine Forces Atlantic ( 1999 – 2000 ) , Commander Marine Aircraft Group 31 ( 1994 – 1996 ) , Commander Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 ( 1992 ) , Fixed Wing Operations Marine Aircraft Group 24 ( 1991 ) , Commander Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 ( 1989 – 1990 ) , Administration Officer and Officer - In - Charge Deployed Carrier Operations VMFAT - 101 ( 1983 – 1985 ) , Aircraft Maintenance Officer VMFA - 235 ( 1979 – 1982 ) , Line Division Officer VMFA - 333 ( 1975 – 1977 ) , Embarkation OIC VMFA - 251 & 232 ( 1973 – 1975 ) . Cartwright ' s staff assignments include : Director for Force Structure , Resources and Assessment , J - 8 the Joint Staff ( 2002 – 2004 ) ; Directorate for Force Structure , Resources and Assessment , J - 8 the Joint Staff ( 1996 – 1999 ) ; Deputy Aviation Plans , Policy , and Budgets Headquarters , U . S . Marine Corps ( 1993 – 1994 ) ; Assistant Program Manager for Engineering , F / A - 18 Naval Air Systems Command ( 1986 – 1989 ) . Cartwright was named the Outstanding Carrier Aviator by the Association of Naval Aviation in 1983 . He graduated with distinction from the Air Command and Staff College , Maxwell AFB 1986 , and received his Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island 1991 . In 2008 , he was honored with Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award . He was selected for and completed a fellowship with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994 . From July 9 , 2004 to September 1 , 2004 , Lieutenant General Cartwight served as Acting Commander , U . S . Strategic Command while awaiting official assumption of office and promotion as Strategic Command ' s new commander . On September 1 , 2004 , Cartwright was sworn in as Commander , U . S . Strategic Command . He was promoted to full general on the same day . On June 8 , 2007 , U . S . Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended Cartwright to be the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , to replace retiring Admiral Edmund Giambastiani ; President George W . Bush formally announced the nomination , with that of Admiral Michael Mullen to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , on June 28 , 2007 . Senator John Warner of Virginia , the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee , stated , " General Cartwright has an extraordinary grasp and understanding of the global posture that America must maintain in this era of new and ever - changing threats . " Cartwright ' s nomination was confirmed by the full Senate on August 3 , 2007 . Due to the retirement of Admiral Giambastiani on July 27 , 2007 , Cartwright assumed the position immediately upon confirmation . He was sworn in on August 31 , 2007 as the 8th Vice Chairman . On March 18 , 2009 , Secretary of Defense Gates announced that Cartwright had been nominated for a second term as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs . He was confirmed by the Senate on July 31 , 2009 . The military investigated Cartwright in 2009 and 2010 for possible misconduct involving a female Marine captain , and investigators recommended administrative action for " failure to discipline a subordinate " and " fostering an unduly familiar relationship " . Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus , however , reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to warrant corrective action for even the lesser offenses . He stated , “ I do not agree with the conclusion that General Cartwright maintained an ‘ unduly familiar relationship ’ with his aide . Nor do I agree that General Cartwright ’ s execution of his leadership responsibilities vis - à - vis his aide or any other member of his staff was inconsistent with the leadership requirements . ” . " [ Q ] uestions about how he oversaw his staff , " however , were mentioned as a reason Cartwright had fallen out as favored candidate of President Obama for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2011 . Army chief Gen . Martin Dempsey was named to the post . " Some Republicans [ had ] . . . quietly criticized Gen . Cartwright , calling him ' Obama ' s general , ' " one report at the time also said . Cartwright held his retirement ceremony on August 3 , 2011 . During the ceremony , Deputy Secretary of Defense William J . Lynn III presented Cartwright his fourth Defense Distinguished Service Medal . He also will receive the Army , Navy , Air Force and Coast Guard distinguished service medals . Post - Retirement Work . General ( retired ) Cartwright currently serves as the inaugural holder of the Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies for the Center for Strategic and International Studies . In addition , General Cartwright serves as a member of The Raytheon Company Board of Directors , a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School ' s Belfer Center , and as a defense consultant for ABC News General Cartwright is an advisor for several corporate entities involved in global management consulting ; technology services and program solutions ; predictive and Big Data Analytics ; and advanced systems engineering , integration , and decision - support services . He serves as an advisor to the Board of Directors for Accenture Federal Services , Enlightenment Capital , IxReveal , Logos Technologies , Opera Solutions , and TASC Inc . He is also affiliated with a number of professional organizations to include the Aspen Strategy Group , The Atlantic Council , Nuclear Threat Initiative , and The Sanya Initiative . General Cartwright is also a leading advocate for the phased and verified elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide ( " Global Zero ( campaign ) " ) . In October 2011 , he spoke at the Global Zero Summit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley , California , and currently serves as Chair of the Global Zero U . S . Nuclear Policy Commission , which in May 2012 released its report , " Modernizing U . S . Nuclear Force Structure and Policy , " calling for the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals 80 % to 900 total weapons each , which would pave the way to bringing other nuclear weapons countries into the first - in - history multilateral nuclear arms negotiations . Previous Civilian Positions . Oct 2011 - Jan 2013 : Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Member