James T . Conway James Terry Conway ( born December 26 , 1947 ) is a retired United States Marine Corps four - star General who was the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps . Among his previous postings were Director of Operations ( J - 3 ) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Commanding General of 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force , taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and First Battle of Fallujah , Iraq . Biography . Conway was born in Walnut Ridge , Arkansas . He graduated from Roosevelt High School in St . Louis , Missouri and then attended Southeast Missouri State University , where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity , graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology . He was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1970 . His first assignment was command of a rifle platoon with 3rd Battalion 1st Marines , based at Camp Pendleton . He also served as the battalion ' s 106mm recoilless rifle platoon commander . Later , he served as Marine executive officer aboard the aircraft carrier and as commanding officer of the Sea School at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego . After graduating with honors from the Army ' s Infantry Officers Advanced Course , Conway commanded two companies in the 2nd Marine Regiment ' s Operations and Security section . As a field grade officer , he commanded two companies of students and taught tactics at The Basic School . He then went on to serve as operations officer for the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit , with sea duty in the western Pacific and in contingency operations off Beirut , Lebanon . Returning to the United States , Conway was assigned as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for two years . After graduating from Marine Corps Command and Staff College with honors , he took command of 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines through its eight - month deployment to Southwest Asia during the Gulf War . After the war , he was promoted to colonel and assigned command of The Basic School . Promoted to brigadier general in December 1995 , he again was assigned to the Joint Chiefs . After being promoted to major general , he served as commander of the 1st Marine Division and as Deputy Commanding General of Marine Forces Central . He was promoted to lieutenant general and assumed command of I Marine Expeditionary Force on November 16 , 2002 . He commanded I MEF during two combat tours in Iraq , with 60 , 000 troops under his command , including Marines , soldiers , sailors , and British forces . In the book " The Iraq War " , Conway was described as , " big , buff , well read and well educated . . . he represented all that was best about the new United States Marine Corps , which General Al Gray as the commandant had set up . " In a press interview on May 30 , 2003 , Conway was questioned about the failure at that point to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq . He replied , in part : US Marines of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force under Conway ' s command constructed the military base " Camp Alpha " on top of ancient Babylonian ruins following the invasion . Though a US Military spokesman claimed that the project was discussed with the " head of the Babylon museum " , the construction of the base drew intense criticism from archaeologists , who contend that it caused irreparable damage to one of the most important sites in the world . Dr . John Curtis of the British Museum ' s Near East department described how parts of the archaeological site were levelled and paved over to create a helipad as well as parking lots for heavy vehicles . Donny George , head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities , stated that the " mess will take decades to sort out " . On June 13 , 2006 , Conway was nominated by President George W . Bush to become the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps ; the nomination was confirmed by the Senate on August 2 , 2006 . On November 13 , 2006 , Conway was promoted to the rank of General at Marine Barracks , Washington , D . C . and became the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps . He was the first Commandant in nearly 40 years to have not served in the Vietnam War . On June 11 , 2009 , Conway spoke at the National Press Club about the importance of maintaining the Amphibious assault ship s to lift two Marine Expeditionary Brigade s and the time " at home " away from the current wars to train for amphibious assault . Conway was reported to have had " major reservations " about the repeal of " don ' t ask , don ' t tell " , in contrast to the Pentagon opinion that the younger rank and file of the military didn ' t have such reservations about serving with openly gay servicemembers . Conway , along with Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead and Chief of Staff of the United States Army George Casey , supported running a one - year study on the effects of a possible repeal . Conway said that if gay Marines are allowed to serve openly , he might need to change the policy that requires unmarried Marines to share rooms . The policy was repealed on December 22 , 2010 , after his tenure as Commandant had ended . On October 22 , 2010 , Conway turned the position of Commandant over to James F . Amos , his Assistant Commandant , at a ceremony at Marine Barracks , Washington , D . C . , Defense secretary Robert Gates presented Conway with his third Defense Distinguished Service Medal during the change - in - command . He then retired on November 1 . Conway is a graduate of the Infantry Officers Advanced Course , the Marine Corps Command and Staff College , and the Air War College . He is married to Annette Conway née Drury , and they have three children . His two sons are Marine officers ( infantry and reconnaissance ) , and his daughter is married to a Marine helicopter pilot . Awards and decorations . Conway has been decorated for service , to include :