 General Peter Pace retired from active duty on October 1, 2007, after more than 40 years of service in the United States Marine Corps.
Pace was sworn in as sixteenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sep. 30, 2005. In this capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. Prior to becoming chairman, he served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace holds the distinction of being the first Marine to have served in either of these positions.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Teaneck, NJ, Pace was commissioned in June 1967, following graduation from the United States Naval Academy. He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from George Washington University, attended the Harvard University Senior Executives in National and International Security program and graduated from the National War College.
During his distinguished career, Pace has held command at virtually every level, beginning as a rifle platoon leader in Vietnam. He also served as commanding officer of the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.; deputy commander, Marine Forces Somalia; deputy commander, Joint Task Force Somalia; director of operations for the Joint Staff; commander, U.S., Marine Forces Atlantic/Europe/South and commander in chief, U.S. Southern Command.
In June, 2008, Pace was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a President can bestow.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of several corporate entities involved in management consulting, private equity and IT security, Pace is currently the President and CEO of the Strategic Advisors Division of SM&A--a leading management consulting firm within the aerospace and defense industry with technical services ranging from capture and competition management to program planning and control.
Pace has served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and is currently on the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Policy Board. He has been named a leader-in-residence and the poling chair of Business and Government for the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University for the 2008-2010 tenure. Pace is also a long-standing member of the Board of Directors for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation – a charity that provides scholarship bonds to children of Marines or Federal law enforcement personnel who were killed while serving our country. He also heads up the advisory board to the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, a nonprofit charity that provides vocational assessment, training support and job placement services for disabled military veterans interested in careers in the financial services industry. He and his wife Lynne are on the advisory board for Our Military Kids, an organization that supports children of deployed Guard and Reserve personnel with tutoring and enrichment activities.
Pace and his wife, Lynne, have a son, Peter, a daughter, Tiffany Marie, a daughter-in-law, Lynsey Olczak Pace, and a granddaughter, Linden Elyse.
|
