George P. Shultz Lecture Series
GENERAL JAMES F.
AMOS THE 35TH
COMMANDANT OF THE U.S.
MARINE CORPS
THE GEORGE P. SHULTZ LECTURE SERIES began in March 2002 when Former Secre- tary of State George P. Shultz introduced the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps. On 8 February of this year, Secre- tary Shultz welcomed and introduced the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James F. Amos. In his introduc- tion, Secretary Shultz quoted from General Amos’ Planning Guidance that emphasizes that the Marine Corps expeditionary capa- bility is “…light enough to get there and heavy enough to win.”
General Amos expanded on the plan- ning guidance reference using the meta- phor of comparing the Marine Corps to a middleweight boxer, with the versatility required to adapt; the inherent agility to provide the right force; and the endur- ance to sustain and win. He spoke about Task Force 58’s 2001 response to the 9/11 attacks. TF 58, under the command of then Brigadier General Jim Mattis, launched from six amphibi- ous ships 600 miles away to establish Forward Operat- ing Base Rhino in Afghani- stan, drive the Taliban from Kandahar, and to secure the American Embassy in Kabul. General Amos compared that demonstrated flexibility to recent operations in Paki- stan by 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units.
Photos (clockwise from above): General James F. Amos, USMC;
(left to right) MMA Board Members Col Ken Jordan and SgtMaj Doug Barr, SgtMaj of the Marine Corps
Carlton Kent and MMA Board Mem- ber Col Bucky Peterson; presenting an Iwo Jima Stamp prepared by Ed Flowers for CMC are (left to right)
Charlotte Shultz, Ed Flowers, MajGen Myatt, Gen Amos and Kay Flowers
16 Crossroads Spring 2011
He took on the recently announced cancel- lation of the Expe- ditionary Fighting Vehicle by pledg- ing to develop a suitable replace- ment for the AAV. He spoke about the commitment to get the VSTOL F35 aircraft back on track.
In his closing remarks, he reminded the audience that as we gathered, our Marines have been busy. There were more than 32,000 Marines forward deployed, engaged in operations such as providing assistance in Haiti and in Pakistan, conducting combat operations in Afghanistan, apprehending pirates in the Indian Ocean, training part- ner nations’ forces and remaining forward deployed, all doing our nation’s bidding. In the audience question period, General Amos gave some terrific answers to a couple of difficult questions. One question dealt with combat stress. He described the ways Marines are dealing with post-traumatic stress with a program titled: “3 Strikes and You’re In”. The final question dealt with what the Marine Corps is doing to assist Marines leaving service to find employment leading to meaningful careers.
You can see the entire video of the pro- gram at
www.MarineClub.com.
Photos: Michael Mustacchi
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