Carl Epting Mundy , Jr . Carl Epting Mundy , Jr . ( born July 16 , 1935 ) is a retired United States Marine Corps General who was the 30th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from July 1 , 1991 until his retirement on June 30 , 1995 , after 38 years of active duty service . From 1996 to 2000 , he served as president and CEO of the USO . General Mundy is the chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation . He also serves on a number of corporate boards . Personal . Carl Epting Mundy , Jr . was born on July 16 , 1935 in Atlanta , Georgia . His family moved frequently when he was a young child , settling in Waynesville , North Carolina when Mundy was about 10 years old . He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery , Alabama . At age 18 , he enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve . Mundy is married and has three children – two sons and a daughter . Both sons are U . S . Marine Corps officers , one of whom is a brigadier general . Marine Corps service . Mundy enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and enrolled in the PLC Program in December 1953 while attending college – serving in the 38th Special Infantry Company , Montgomery , Alabama and rising to the grade of sergeant . He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in June 1957 , following graduation from Auburn University . His later military education included the Command and General Staff College and the Naval War College . His early assignments included service in the 2nd Marine Regiment , 2nd Marine Division ; duty aboard the aircraft carrier and the cruiser ; instructor at The Basic School ; and as Officer Selection Officer , Raleigh , North Carolina . In 1966 - 67 , Mundy served in Vietnam as operations and executive officer of the 3rd Battalion , 26th Marines , 3rd Marine Division , and as an intelligence officer in the Headquarters , III Marine Amphibious Force . After Vietnam , his principal assignments were : Following advancement to Brigadier General in April 1982 , Mundy ' s assignments were : Awards and decorations . General Mundy ' s awards include : Remarks on minority officers . In an October 31 , 1993 segment on the CBS program " 60 Minutes " on the dearth of minority promotions in the US Marine Corps , General Mundy was quoted as saying , " In the military skills , we find that the minority officers do not shoot as well as the non - minorities . They don ' t swim as well . And when you give them a compass and send them across the terrain at night in a land navigation exercise , they don ' t do as well at that sort of thing . " Mundy , noted for being blunt , though possibly the " victim of selective editing " , apologized for " any offense that may have been taken " from his remarks . According to " The Times " , the general elaborated on this question at a 1993 commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima , when commenting on Ira Hayes , he said " Were Ira Hayes here today . . . I would tell him that although my words on another occasion have given the impression that I believe some Marines . . . because of their color . . . are not as capable as other Marines . . . that those were not the thoughts of my mind . . . and that they are not the thoughts of my heart . Position on married Marines . Mundy issued an order in 1993 to cut down ( and eventually eliminate ) the recruitment category for married marines ; the order was rescinded following a public outcry . Post - Marine Corps career . From 1996 to 2000 , Mundy served as president and CEO of the USO . He is chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation . He also serves on the boards of directors of Schering - Plough and General Dynamics , as well as serving on the Board of Advisors for Veterans Direct . Remarks on gays serving in the military . Mundy was signatory to an open letter delivered to President Barack Obama and Members of Congress expressing support for the 1993 law stating that self - identified homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military , commonly referred to as " Don ' t ask , don ' t tell . " The letter said in part , " We believe that imposing this burden on our men and women in uniform would undermine recruiting and retention , impact leadership at all echelons , have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service , and eventually break the All - Volunteer Force . " However unlike the 34th commandant , General James T . Conway , Mundy has said that if the restriction were repealed the troops should not be segregated .