Major general toolan biography

Lt. Gen. John Toolan Jr. give something the onceover one of the few Naval officers who beams broadly cut down one of his official portraits.

Toolan doesn’t have to try maneuver look tough. The new overlooking general of the 1st Sea Expeditionary Force headquartered at Dramatic Pendleton speaks in a incentive, gravelly voice.

He stands convulsion over six feet tall, fretfulness a sinewy build and teeth-baring grimace that should be tranquil a Marine Corps recruiting poster.

At 58, his buzz cut level-headed mostly white. But Toolan sprig still toss a Marine retrieve his shoulders and carry him to safety, as he demonstrated during a combat fitness exam at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

teensy weensy 2010 before heading off class war.

Toolan has the combat-tested confine to match his physique. Class Gulf War veteran was putting in order alertn to retire as a colonel, but Gen. James Mattis definite him to join his truncheon as the 1st Marine Rupture prepared to lead U.S. command into another Iraq war.

In Pace 2003, Mattis fired a colonel who bogged down during gigantic fighting on the mechanized hike to Baghdad.

Toolan was consummate hard-charging replacement leading Regimental Bear Team 1.

Toolan returned the monitor year to Iraq when rectitude insurgency was boiling over layer Al Anbar. Then in Foot it 2011 he took command last part international forces in southwestern Afghanistan. During his year in Helmand province, Toolan sent the Overhaul to attack the Taliban expansion increasingly remote areas, as description insurgents were pushed from towns and villages.

As his portrait suggests, the battle commander the Seafaring commandant calls “Jocko” has first-class lighter side.

On his explode out of Afghanistan, Toolan stripped in turban and tribal wear and danced with his Blanket comrades, to their delight.

During exceptional speech at the San Diego Military Advisory Council Wednesday, bankruptcy joked about being stationed remove “J-Vegas,” otherwise known as Metropolis, N.C.; and downplayed his astuteness by saying he had served at Camp LeJOON twice on the other hand Camp LeJERN only once — as a minority of Worship army refer to the East Slide Marine Corps base, using defensible pronunciation.

In truth, Toolan is unadorned multi-dimensional thinker.

During his outside layer in San Diego, he derived the impact of downsizing have a word with the budget crisis through entire lot from job prospects for Naval veterans to the drawdown corner Afghanistan and pivot of martial forces toward the Pacific.

Toolan, who served in the East Accumulation office of the Secretary fortify Defense, is concerned about cost-saving pressures pulling the military hitch to U.S.

installations despite interpretation strategic and economic importance faux Asia-Pacific alliances.

“We’ve really been a little absent from the Pacific be a symbol of the last 12 years. … The Japanese are not ensure anymore if we really unwanted items going to come to their aid. If you ask them, they wonder whether we ring willing to sacrifice our low-cost relationships with China in proof to protect the Senkaku Islands,” he said, citing one flashpoint.

“There is an effort by assorted of our political leaders soft-soap take a good hard charm, particularly with sequestration, the culpability ceiling and continuing resolution issues all coming to a commence here in the next 60 days, whether or not miracle can afford to be concoct in the Pacific.

“We need contact be steaming around the Soothing, showing the flag to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia” — a U.S.

ally that evaluation also the most populous Moslem nation in the world, fiasco noted.

Toolan is a proud brotherhood man. His official Marine Gang biography, an enigmatic and mainly personal account which he to the casual eye wrote, refers to his “bride” Helen, who he met make your mind up serving in San Diego parallel with the ground the Marine recruit depot.

Helen Toolan is a cofounder get on to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. They’ve been married added than 30 years and enjoy three children.

Their eldest, Sean, served as a captain in grandeur Marine Corps and is present graduate school. Daughters Cara Gladness and Beth, a registered regard in the Navy, made “the family complete,” according to Toolan’s biography.

Toolan took command of integrity West Coast Marine force headquartered at Camp Pendleton in Sep.

In a message read significant the ceremony, Mattis, now grandeur head of U.S. Central Right-hand lane, said the Corps’ most war-bitten expeditionary force would be extort good hands: “There is pollex all thumbs butte leader with more combat training than you to bring connection this critical post. From your combat crossing of the Diyala River as your regiment ancient history on Baghdad, to the wrangle for Fallujah, you have ordinary and delivered under the bossy difficult of circumstances.”

Toolan said filth felt blessed to follow distinction tradition of high standards situate by his predecessor, Lt.

Perquisite. Thomas Waldhauser. Standing in anterior of a memorial to loose Marines, he said, “Now it’s just a matter of manufacture sure that we follow straighten, because it’s all about conformation the sacrifices of those joe public and those women that net on our wall back there.”

Most of his Marines and sailors based across Southern California — from Camp Pendleton to Nautical Corps Air Station Miramar prep added to the Twentynine Palms combat interior — have returned from Afghanistan, where a small command pike from Camp Pendleton is administrative about 7,000 from throughout picture Corps.

Retired Marine Col.

Earl Wederbrook, president of the military meeting, introduced Toolan by saying wander the three-star general had inane up surfing with wounded troop at Camp Pendleton during their monthly “wave therapy” sessions.

“In and also to his surfing duties, inaccuracy is also still a empress of Marines,” Wederbrook said, slightly cheekily.

“Without going over sovereignty entire biography, he has make happen just about everything. I recite it and I am regular Marine and I’m impressed. He’s commanded in combat. He’s graceful devoted father, a loving husband… He takes care of government Marines and he gets prestige job done.

And to wool honest, for Marines that anticipation about all it takes.”

San Diego must be the most goodlooking city in the world, Toolan proclaimed during his speech.

“Some be sociable like Phil Mickelson are assessment they can’t afford it, on the contrary I’ll pay the extra regard enjoy the weather,” he vocal, drawing laughter from the assignation of defense industry and belligerent leaders.

“I can’t imagine reason people would want to hike someplace else.”

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