Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Jarvis D. Lynch Jr., USMC, (born February 17, 1933) retired in 1991 as the commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot/commanding general, Eastern Recruiting Region,

Parris Island, South Carolina Parris Island is a district of the city of Port Royal, South Carolina on an island of the same name. It became part of the city with the annexation of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on October 11, 2002. For statistical purposes, the ...

Early years

A native of

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,Glassboro High School Glassboro High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Glassboro, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Glassboro ...

in 1951.

Military career

He received his B.S. degree from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in June 1956, and was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. He also holds an M.S. degree in management technology from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

, conferred in 1973. Upon completion of

The Basic School The Basic School (TBS) is where all newly commissioned and appointed (for warrant officers) United States Marine Corps officers are taught the basics of being an "Officer of Marines". The Basic School is located at Camp Barrett, Quantico, Vir ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...

., in March 1957, he was assigned to the

1st Battalion, 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 4th Marines (1/4) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. They fall under the command of the 1st M ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. While there, he was promoted to first lieutenant in December 1957. Transferred to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, in May 1959, he was assigned to the Officer Selection Team as the assistant officer selection officer until May 1962. He was promoted to captain in October 1961. Lynch transferred overseas in July 1962, where he served for a year as an assistant operations officer, 3rd Marine Division, on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. On his return to the states in August 1963, he served for two years as the senior tactics instructor and chief instructor of the 2d Infantry Training Regiment,

Camp Pendleton, California Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

. During July 1965, he returned to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

as an instructor and company officer. While at Annapolis, he was promoted to major in October 1966. From August 1967 until June 1968, he attended the

Marine Corps Command and Staff College Marine Corps University is a professional military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Master's Degrees. ...

at Quantico, graduating as an honor graduate. He was transferred to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

for duty as the operations officer of

2nd Battalion, 26th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines (2/26) is an inactive infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of the 26th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division and fought during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. They were a ...

(also Battalion Landing Team 2/26) and later with Special Landing Force Alpha. Ordered to Headquarters Marine Corps,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in August 1969, Lynch served as a plans officer in the Plans and Programs Branch, G-3 Division. In January 1972, he returned to school and received his master's degree from

in Washington, D.C. Following completion of school in July 1973, Lynch was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was assigned duties as instructor and chief of Combat Service Support Instruction Division, Education Center, at the Marine Corps Combat Development and Education Command, Quantico. From April 1977 until June 1978, Lynch attended the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, graduating with distinction. The following month, he returned to the Far East for duty as the operations officer of

III Marine Amphibious Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...

, on

. During December of that year, he was promoted to colonel. Lynch reported to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and assumed duty as the deputy director, 8th Marine Corps district, in August 1979. In June 1981, he became the 18th director of the 8th Marine Corps District in New Orleans. He served in this capacity until June 1983, when he reported to Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific,

Camp H. M. Smith Camp H. M. Smith is a United States Marine Corps installation in the Hawaiian town of Aiea on the island of Oahu, near the community of Halawa (ha-LA-va) Heights. It is the headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Spec ...

, Hawaii, to assume the duties as chief of staff. While serving in this capacity, he was selected in February 1985 for promotion to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He was advanced to that grade on June 18, 1985, and assigned as the assistant chief of staff for operations, Headquarters, Allied Forces, Northern European Command, near

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

on July 15, 1985. Lynch was assigned as the commanding general, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Rein),

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, on 18 September 1987. He was advanced to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 5 May 1988. According to the book ''Making The Corps'', Lynch favored tough realistic training in Marine boot camp. His philosophy was "I don't mind bloody or broken noses". He always signed his memos "no prisoners".

Post-military life

In 1995, Lynch was named the U.S. Naval Institute's "Distinguished Author of the Year." A 1988 article, "Landmines, Lies and Other Phenomena", addressing the subject of the ongoing landmine controversy, appeared in the Naval Institute's ''

Proceedings In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings is a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the confere ...

'' magazine.

Awards

Lynch's decorations and medals include:

References

External links