John M . Paxton , Jr . General John M . Paxton , Jr . ( born 1951 ) is a United States Marine Corps four - star general officer . He currently serves as the 33rd Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps . Prior to current assignment , he served as the Commanding General of United States Marine Corps Forces Command ( MARFORCOM ) ; Commanding General , Fleet Marine Force Atlantic ( FMFlant ) ; Commander , U . S . Marine Corps Forces Europe , as well as II Marine Expeditionary Force . Previously , he was Director , J3 - Operations , The Joint Staff and Chief of Staff , Multinational Forces - Iraq . Defense Secretary Robert M . Gates announced on March 13 , 2008 , Paxton ' s nomination for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general , and for assignment as Director , Strategic Plans & Policy , J - 5 , The Joint Staff . On May 22 , 2007 , Paxton relinquished command of the 1st Marine Division to take the role of Chief of Staff for Multi - National Force - Iraq . Biography . Born in Chester , PA . He attended Cornell University in Ithaca , New York , earning both a Bachelor ' s degree and a Master ' s Degree in Civil Engineering . He was elected to the Sphinx Head Society during his senior year . Moreover , he was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity throughout his undergraduate years at Cornell . Upon completion of Officer Candidates School , he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U . S . Marine Corps in 1974 . Upon completion of The Basic School , he was ordered to Airborne School at Fort Benning , Georgia and then assigned as a Rifle Platoon Commander in Bravo Company , 1st Battalion , 3rd Marines , 1st Marine Brigade , Kaneohe , Hawaii . Paxton has served twice with the 1st Marine Division ( 3rd Battalion , 5th Marines and 1st Marines ) , once with the 2nd Marine Division ( 1st Battalion , 8th Marines ) , and twice with the 3rd Marine Division ( 1st Battalion , 3rd Marines and 2nd Battalion , 4th Marines ) , commanding at the platoon , company , battalion and regimental levels . He commanded Battalion Landing Team 1 / 8 from April 1992 – June 1994 . They deployed with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable and USS America ( CV - 66 ) Battle Group as Landing Force 6th Fleet ( LF6F 2 - 93 ) and Joint Adaptive Task Force 93 - 2 in support of operations in Bosnia - Herzegovina , and later as United Nations Quick Reaction Force ( QRF ) in Mogadishu , Somalia . In addition to command , General Paxton has also served in Operations , Plans and Training ( G3 / S3 ) at the battalion , regiment , division ( 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions ) and Marine Expeditionary Force ( II - MEF ) levels . Non - Fleet Marine Force tours included Commanding Officer Company B , Marine Barracks , 8th & I , Washington , D . C . ( 1980 – 81 ) ; Commanding Officer Marine Corps Recruiting Station New York , New York ( 1985 – 88 ) ; Strategic Plans Branch ( PLS ) , Plans , Policies and Operations ( PP & O ) Department , Headquarters United States Marine Corps ; and as Executive Assistant and Marine Corps Aide to the Under Secretary of the Navy ( 1996 – 97 ) . General Paxton is a Joint Service Officer , having served at United Nations Command / Combined Forces Command in Korea from 1989 - 1991 as Amphibious Operations Officer and Executive Officer , Crisis Action Team . From June 1997 to June 1998 , he was the Assistant Chief of Staff G3 ( Operations , Plans and Training ) . His next assignment , from June 1998 to June 2000 , was commanding the 1st Marine Regiment . From 2000 to 2001 , Paxton had a one - year tour as the United States Marine Corps Fellow ( National Security Studies ) at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York . From July 2001 to August 2003 , he was the Director , Programs Division ( RP ) , and Assistant Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Programs and Resources ( ADC , P & R ) , Headquarters Marine Corps . From 2003 to 2006 , Paxton served as Commanding General , Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Western Recruiting Region . On May 22 , 2007 , Paxton relinquished command of the 1st Marine Division to Brig . Gen . Richard P . Mills . Paxton next served as the Chief of Staff to the commander of Multi - National Force - Iraq . Advanced to Lieutenant General in 2008 , Paxton served initially as Director , Strategic Plans and Policy ( J - 8 ) on the Joint Staff , then was nominated and confirmed to the Operations Directorate ( J - 3 ) , where he served until appointment as CG , II MEF ; and CG , Marine Forces , Africa . Before departing the Pentagon , Paxton also served as interim director , The Joint Staff . Military education . In addition to The Basic School , his professional education includes United States Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School ( non resident ) , United States Army Infantry Officer Advanced Course , and the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College . In 1994 – 1995 Paxton was a Federal Executive Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution . He has also been a Marine Corps Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ' s Seminar XXI . Awards . Paxton also holds several expert rifle and the sharpshooter pistol marksmanship badge .