Duane D . Thiessen Duane D . Thiessen ( born March 11 , 1951 in Goessel , Kansas ) is a Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps , and is currently commanding the United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific , having assumed command on September 2 , 2010 . Biography . Thiessen was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in May 1974 , after graduating from Pittsburg State University . Following completion of flight training , he reported to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina , for transition training to the AV - 8B Harrier II . Thiessen ' s initial assignment as a Harrier pilot was with VMA - 542 , where he performed in both Operational and Maintenance billets while completing two deployments to Okinawa and participating in a Mediterranean deployment aboard the . In July 1982 , Captain Thiessen reported to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 in Yuma , Arizona , where he served as an AV - 8 tactics instructor . In December 1985 , Major Thiessen returned to Cherry Point and was assigned to VMA - 231 as the Operations Officer , where he led a detachment of six AV - 8Bs that deployed to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit . Upon returning to the United States in 1988 , Major Thiessen attended the Naval Command and Staff College in Newport , Rhode Island . Following graduation he reported to Naval Air Systems Command , Washington , D . C . , and served as an assistant to the AV - 8B program manager . In June 1991 , Lieutenant Colonel Thiessen assumed command of VMAT - 203 at Cherry Point . After relinquishing command , he returned to Washington , DC , to attend the National War College . He was subsequently assigned as the Marine Requirements Officer in the Joint Strike Fighter Program office . Colonel Thiessen then served until June 1999 as the Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 13 in Yuma . Following command of MAG - 13 , Colonel Thiessen served in the Aviation Plans and Policy Branch of Headquarters Marine Corps until July 2000 , when he was appointed to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Expeditionary Force Programs . Colonel Thiessen was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed the duties as the Deputy Director of Operations , National Military Command Center in October 2001 . He then served until May 2004 as the Deputy Naval Inspector General for Marine Corps Matters / Inspector General of the Marine Corps . Thiessen was then assigned as the Commanding General of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa , Japan from 3 June 2004 - 10 June 2005 , followed by a two - year tour as Commander , Marine Forces Korea and assistant Chief of Staff , U / C / J - 5 , United Nations Command , Combined Forces Command , and the United States Forces Korea . In June 2007 , Major General Thiessen returned to the United States and assumed the duties of Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources ( Programs ) at Headquarters United States Marine Corps . Thiessen was nominated for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General on March 13 , 2008 , to become the Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources . Secretary of Defense Robert M . Gates announced March 15 , 2010 that Lt . Gen . Duane D . Thiessen has been nominated for reappointment to the rank of lieutenant general with assignment as commander , U . S . Marine Corps Forces Pacific ; commanding general , Fleet Marine Force Pacific ; and commander , Marine Corps Bases Pacific . Lieutenant General Thiessen is married to Lynn Rodd and they have two children .