Major General John M. "Jay" Paxton Jr. USMC
Commanding General 1st Marine Division
Life Member

Major General Paxton assumed duties as the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in August 2006. His previous assignment was as the Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Western Recruiting Region in August 2003. His previous assignment before that was as the Director, Programs Division (RP), Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Programs and Resources (DC,P&R), Headquarters United States Marine Corps. Major General Paxton assumed that billet in July 2001 upon completion of a one-year tour as the United States Marine Corps Fellow (National Security Studies) at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Prior to that he served for three years with the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California. From June 1997 - June 1998 he was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff G3 (Operations, Plans and Training). He then commanded 1st Marines from June 1998 until June 2000.

Graduating from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Civil Engineering degree, Major General Paxton was commissioned in 1974 through the Officer Candidate Program. 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.

Major General Paxton has served twice with the 1st Marine Division (3rd Bn, 5th Mar and 1st Mar), once with the 2nd Marine Division (1st Bn, 8th Mar), and twice with the 3rd Marine Division (1st Bn, 3rd Mar and 2d Bn, 4th Mar), 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, Major General Paxton has also served in Operations, Plans and Training (G3/S3) at the battalion, regiment, division (1st & 2nd MarDiv) and Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) levels. Non Fleet Marine Force tours included Commanding Officer Company B, Marine Barracks 8th & I, Washington, DC (1980-81); Commanding Officer Marine Corps Recruiting Station New York, NY (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). Major 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.

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 Major General 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.

(Updated as of August 2006)

Photo Credit: USMC