Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr.

Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. is a United States Marine Corps Lieutenant General who currently serves as Director of the Joint Staff. He assumed the job on July 5, 2017 after having previously served for two years as Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff.

Biography
A native of Birmingham, Alabama he was commissioned in 1979 via the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at The Citadel, McKenzie holds a Masters Degree in History from the National Defense University and has served as a Senior Military Fellow at the schools Institute for National Strategic Studies, he is an Honors Graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Warfighting.

Career
As an infantry officer his assignments have included command of 1st Battalion, 6th Marines and as Commanding Officer of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit which he lead on deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as Military Secretary to two Marine Corps Commandants.

His flag officer posts have included Deputy Director of Operations for the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon, in 2008 he was selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as Director of his new administration transition team overseeing the smooth transition of military forces under incoming President Barack Obama. He returned to Afghanistan serving as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Stability under the International Security Assistance Force ,followed by a tour as Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy at United States Central Command. He then returned to the Pentagon to serve as the Marine Corps Representative to the Quadrennial Defense Review and after receiving his third star was appointed Commanding General of United States Marine Forces Central Command.