Wallace Gregson Jr

Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson, Jr., is Senior Director, China and the Pacific at the Center for the National Interest. He retired from the Marine Corps in 2005 with the rank of Lieutenant General. He last served as the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific; Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific; and Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Bases, Pacific, headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. General Gregson is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. After The Basic School, he served with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam from February 1969 to August 1970. Operational assignments included infantry battalion executive officer, division staff duty, headquarters battalion executive officer, operations officer (G-3) of I Marine Expeditionary Force, and assistant operations officer (J-3A) of Unified Task Force Somalia during Operation Restore Hope. He has commanded an infantry company; Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division; 1st Battalion, 5th Marines; 7th Marine Regiment; and 3d Marine Division. From 2001 to 2005 he served as Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Commander, Marine Corps Bases, Japan and Commander, Marine Forces, Japan. Supporting establishment duties included S-4 of a recruit training battalion, aide-de-camp, recruit training company commander, recruiting station executive officer, company commander of a combined platoon leader's class, and operations officer for a recruiting district. Marine Corps Headquarters duties included program development officer, coordinator for roles and missions, and Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans. External duties include military observer with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Egypt, Deputy for Marine Corps Matters in the Secretary of the Navy's Office of Program Appraisal, and Executive/Military Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. In his last Washington Marine Corps assignment, he served as Director, Asia and Pacific Affairs, in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. Professional military education assignments after The Basic School included the U.S. Army Infantry Officers Advanced Course, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, the Naval War College, and a tour as a Military Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a distinguished graduate of the Infantry Officers Advanced Course and the Naval War College. Civilian education includes a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, master's degrees in strategic planning from the Naval War College and international relations from Salve Regina College. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service by the University of Maryland. Following retirement, he joined the U.S. Olympic Committee as Chief Operating Officer. In 2006 he formed his own consulting company. On 13 May 2009, following Senate confirmation, he assumed responsibility as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, a post he held until 2 April 2011. He is now in business as President of WC Gregson & Associates, and a Senior Fellow with Avascent International, and CNA Analysis and Solutions. He is a member of the Marine Corps Association, the U.S. Naval Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a past Trustee of the Marine Corps University Foundation, and af ormer Director of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. He is an Honorary Adviser to the Okinawa Development International Council. He and his wife Cindy reside in Falls Church, VA.