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Jim Jones Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here is a look at the life of General (ret.) Jim Jones, former National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama.

Personal

Birth date: December 19, 1943

Birth place: Kansas City, Missouri

Birth name: James Logan Jones Jr.

Father: James L. Jones Sr.

Mother: Charlotte Ann (Ground) Jones

Marriage: Diane (Johnson) Jones

Children: Four children

Education: Georgetown University, B.S., 1966; National War College, 1985

Military service: US Marines, 1967-2007, four-star General

Other Facts

Speaks fluent French.

Is the first Marine sworn in as Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Timeline

January 1967 Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps.

1967-1968 Serves as a platoon and company commander in Vietnam.

1979-1984 Marine Corps Liaison Officer to the US Senate.

1985-1987 Commander, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.

1987-1989 Senior aide to the commandant of the Marine Corps.

February 1989 Becomes the military secretary to the commandant.

1990-1992 Commanding officer, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

June 30, 1999 Is promoted to general and assumes the post the following day.

1999-2003 Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.

January 16, 2003-2006 NATO’s Commander of the US European Command (USEUCOM) and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR).

February 1, 2007 Retires from the Marines.

2007 Chairman of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, as appointed by Congress.

2007-2008 US State Department Special Envoy for Middle East Security.

2007-2008 President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

2007-2009 – Chairman of the Atlantic Council.

December 1, 2008 President-elect Obama appoints Jones to serve as national security adviser.

January 20, 2009-October 2010 National Security Adviser under President Obama.

October 8, 2010 Obama announces that Jones will leave his post by the end of October and will be replaced by his most senior deputy, Thomas E. Donilon.

2011-present President of Jones Group International consulting firm.

January 4, 2011 Rejoins the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

2012-present – Chairman of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council.

March 20, 2012-present – Co-chairman of the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit that helps veterans with job placement and training.

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