10 Things You Didn’t Know About Gen. Jim Jones

1. James Logan Jones was born Dec. 19, 1943, in Kansas City, Mo.

2. Jones spent most of his childhood in France, where his father worked for the farming machinery company International Harvester.

3. Jones returned to the United States for his last year of high school. He lived with relatives in Alexandria, Va., while he completed his senior year.

Gen. James Jones.

4. He attended Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, from which he graduated in 1966. Jones was a forward on Georgetown's basketball team.

5. After graduation, Jones joined the Marines. In 1967, he was sent to Vietnam, where he earned a Silver Star for valor.

6. Jones had a highly distinguished career in the Marines, serving at posts in the United States, Japan, Iraq, and Bosnia. He was the Marines' liaison officer to the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1984. He also graduated from the National War College in 1985. From 1999 to 2003, Jones was commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

7. During the Clinton administration, Jones served as the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary William Cohen. More recently, he has served as a special security envoy for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Israeli-Palestinian security.

8. In 2003, Jones was named commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. In the latter role, he commanded NATO forces. He was the first Marine to take this post—it's usually held by Army generals.

9. Jones retired from the military in 2007 to become president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, a group that studies energy and security issues.

10. Jones and his wife, Diane, have four children.

Sources:

• Agence France-Presse
• Associated Press
• Boston Globe
• New York Times
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Washington Post