From 2005 to 2007, Dunford returned to Headquarters Marine Corps to serve as the Director of the Operations Division of the Plans, Policies and Operations staff, and eventually became the Vice Director for Operations (J-3) at the Joint Staff in 2008.[6] In December 2007, Dunford was nominated for promotion to the rank of major general.[11] Two months later, Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates announced that President George W. Bush had nominated Dunford for promotion to lieutenant general and appointment as Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, to succeed Lieutenant General Richard F. Natonski.[11] In April 2008, his appointment to the permanent rank of major general was confirmed by the United States Senate, and he was simultaneously appointed to the grade of lieutenant general for his new assignment.
On October 10, 2012, Dunford was nominated by President Obama to lead U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.[16] Dunford assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from General John Allen on February 10, 2013.[17]
On June 5, 2014, Dunford was nominated by President Obama to be the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on July 23, 2014, and he became Commandant on October 17, 2014.[18] On January 23, 2015, Dunford released the 36th Commandant's Planning Guidance.[19]
During his tenure, Dunford worked to keep sex-based job assignment policies in place to keep women out of ground combat arms military occupational specialties.[20] On December 3, 2015, Dunford was overruled by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter who announced that beginning in January 2016, all military occupations and positions will be open to women, without exception.[21]
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Dunford, right, is sworn in as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by outgoing chairman Martin Dempsey, left, in a change of responsibility ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on September 25, 2015.
During an event in December 2018, Joseph Dunford criticized Google for its "inexplicable" continued investing in autocratic, communist-led China while simultaneously not renewing further research and development collaborations with the Pentagon. "I'm not sure that people at Google will enjoy a world order that is informed by the norms and standards of Russia or China," Dunford said. Dunford has urged that Google should work directly with the U.S. government instead of making controversial inroads into China.[29][30]
Dunford stepped down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 2019, declining interviews and praising his successor, General Mark A. Milley. Dunford and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had favored Air Force chief of staff General David L. Goldfein as Dunford's successor, but Milley was selected by President Donald Trump instead.[31][32][33][34] Dunford officially retired on 1 November 2019.
Effective dates of promotion
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, meets with Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, Commander-in-Chief, Indonesian National Armed Forces, at the Pentagon, February 18, 2016.Dunford inspecting members of the Ceremonial Guard during a visit to Ottawa, February 2018.
* Appointed to Lieutenant General and confirmed by the United States Senate in April 2008. Simultaneously, he was appointed Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, skipping the rank of Major General. For administrative purposes, his promotion to permanent major general and lieutenant general are on the same date.
On April 6, 2016, Dunford was honored with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) "Honor Guard Gala Military Award", which he received "on Behalf of America's Armed Forces".[46] On September 8, 2016, Dunford received the Heroes Award from nonprofit organization Tuesday's Children at their annual Roots of Resilience Gala. He accepted it on behalf of the men and women of the Armed Forces.[47] On July 23, 2018, Dunford received the coveted "Dwight D. Eisenhower" award during a ceremony from the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). On May 10, 2019, he received the same award from the National Defense Industrial Association.[48] On December 7, 2018, Dunford received the Andrew J. Goodpaster award from the George C. Marshall Foundation.[49]
Dunford was awarded the title of Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Military Division in 2018.[50] He also received Canada's Meritorious Service Cross (MSC) in the Military Division that same year, and accepted the award at the Halifax International Security Forum. In 2020 he was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the Military Division.[51] While, as an honorary knight, he may not use the title of Sir, he retains the right to use post-nominals for any Commonwealth awards.
A street in Quincy Center in Dunford's childhood hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts, was named "General Joseph F. Dunford Drive" in his honor in 2021.[52] Seven general officers from Quincy, including Dunford, were honored with the construction of a public park in Quincy Center, as well as a bridge connecting Quincy Center to the Thomas E. Burgin Parkway. The Generals Park was dedicated in September 2021, and the Generals Bridge opened to traffic in January 2022.[53]
Civilian career
As of February 10, 2020, Dunford joined the board of directors at Lockheed Martin, serving on the Classified Business and Security Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.[54] He is also on the board of a New York private equity firm,[55] following a path taken by other prominent retired 4-star officers, such as David Petraeus (who went to work for the global investment firm KKR[56]) and Ray Odierno (who became a senior advisor at JPMorgan Chase).[57] In May 2022, he joined the board of directors at Satellogic, an Argentine satellite company.[58] Dunford is a member of the Board of Directors of Georgetown University.
^ abJohnson, Kimberly (February 24, 2008). "3 tapped for stars". Marine Corps Times. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved October 18, 2014. (Viewing article requires answering survey or viewing advertisement video)
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