Joseph V . Medina Brigadier General Joseph V . Medina ( born c . 1953 ) is a United States Marine Corps General whose career has taken him from an initial posting leading a rifle platoon to head of the contingency plans branch overseeing NATO ' s Kosovo operation . On November 2003 , Medina took command of Expeditionary Strike Group Three . This event marked the first time in history that a United States Marine Corps officer took command of a Naval flotilla . In April 2007 , BGen Medina took command of the 3rd Marine Division . Biography . Education . Medina , who is of Mexican ancestry , attended the United States Naval Academy where he was commissioned a second lieutenant upon his graduation in 1976 . His academic accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science ( Physics ) and a Master of Science ( Systems Management ) degrees from the University of Southern California . Medina also attended the Amphibious Warfare School , where he was an honor graduate in 1985 , the Marine Corps Command and Staff College ( Distinguished Graduate , 1992 ) , and graduated in 1998 from the NATO Defence College . Early assignments . Medina ' s earlier career assignments included the following : Rifle Platoon Commander , 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines ; Headquarters Company Commander , 5th Marine Regiment ; Company Commander , Company F , 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines ; Company Commander , Company F , 2nd Battalion , 4th Marines ; Company Commander , Weapons Company , 3rd Battalion , 5th Marines ; and commander of two Basic School ( TBS ) companies and an Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) company . Commands . In May 1995 , he assumed command of the 3rd Battalion , 2nd Marines . The battalion was deployed to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba in Support of JTF - 160 for Operation SEA SIGNAL in 1995 , and to Okinawa , Japan as part of the Unit Deployment Program in 1996 , during his tour as battalion commander . In February 1997 , he was reassigned as the Executive Officer of the 2nd Marine Regiment . In February 1998 he was transferred to Headquarters , U . S . European Command where he was assigned as Contingency Plans Branch Chief , J3 Directorate . Median simultaneously served as Chief , Kosovo Plans Group for Operation Noble Anvil , Operation Allied Force and Operation Joint Guardian from August 1998 until June 1999 as a direct result of the Kosovo Crisis . In June 1999 he was promoted to Colonel and assigned as the Chief , Operational Plans Division ( J35 ) , Operations Directorate . Among Medina ' s other commands was the G - 3 , Enlisted Recruiting Operations & Plans at the Marine Corps Recruiting Command at Quantico , Virginia . He has served as Marine Officer Instructor / Associate Professor of Naval Science at Penn State University . Commander of the Belleau Wood Expeditionary Strike Group . In 2001 , Medina was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed command of the newly established Expeditionary Strike Group Three ( ESG - 3 ) in San Diego , California , which is an integral part of United States Navy ' s Third Fleet . Medina became the first Marine general ever assigned commander of naval ships . On June 10 , 2004 , Medina oversaw the manning and equipping of ESG - 3 . From his flagship , the , he led 4 , 000 Marines and sailors into Pearl Harbor for five days of training . He then led the Belleau Wood Strike Group ( BWDESG ) through a 6 - month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was assigned as Commander Task Force 58 . Their mission was to detect , identify , and disrupt international terrorist organizations and foreign fighters . Currently . On July 8 , 2005 , Medina was named Commanding General Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D . Butler and Deputy Commander , Marine Corps Bases , Japan . On September 6 , 2007 , Medina handed over responsibilities as commander of Marine Corps Base Camp Butler to BGen Mary Ann Krusa - Dossin . On April 27 , 2007 , BGen Mastin M . Robeson passed on the command of the 3rd Marine Division to Medina in a ceremony held at Camp Courtney in Okinawa . While briefly serving as Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division , Medina remained dual - hatted as Deputy Commanding General , III Marine Expeditionary Force ; and Commanding General , III Marine Expeditionary Brigade . BGen Medina relinquished command of the 3rd Marine Division on June 11 , 2007 to Major General Robert B . Neller . As of May 2007 , Medina is one of four Hispanics to hold the rank of Brigadier General and above in the United States Marine Corps . The other three are Major General William D . Catto , Commanding General Marine Corps Systems Command , Brigadier General Angela Salinas , Chief of Staff Marine Corps Recruiting Command and the first Hispanic female to obtain a general rank in the Marines , and Brigadier General David C . Garza , Deputy Commander , Marine Forces Central Command . Medina who was featured on " Hispanic Business magazine " on October 2006 as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States , is an advocate of Hispanic recruitment in the Marine Corps and has been quoted as saying : Awards and decorations . Brigadier General Medina ' s personal decorations include :