Joseph P. Hoar

General Joseph P. Hoar (born December 30, 1934) is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, former Commander in Chief of United States Central Command. He retired from the Corps on September 1, 1994.

Hoar graduated from Tufts University and received a second lieutenant's commission in the Marine Corps in 1957. After graduating from Basic School at Quantico, he was assigned as a rifle platoon commander with the 5th Marine Regiment. Later assignments included duty with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines at Camp Pendleton, battalion staff officer on Okinawa, the Marine Barracks at Yorktown, Virginia and Assistant Manpower, Personnel and Administration Officer at Camp Lejeune.

During the Vietnam War Hoar was assigned with the 2nd Marine Division, commanding Company M, 3rd Battalion of that unit. He later served as a battalion and brigade adviser with a South Vietnamese Marine unit. He then returned stateside, completing a three-year tour of duty in Washington, DC as an operations officer and as Special Assistant to the Assistant Marine Corps Commandant. In 1971 he again went overseas as Executive Officer of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.

From 1972-76 Hoar was an instructor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, later returning to Marine Headquarters where he served in the Personnel Management Division. In 1977 he returned to 1st Marines as commander of its 3rd Battalion, later accepting duty with the Division's staff, where he was promoted to colonel. General Hoar served as 1st Marines regimental commander from 1979-81.

After completing this tour he was assigned to the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit aboard USS Belleau Wood, participating in three deployments in the Indian Ocean. He then returned to the U.S. as Assistant Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Administration, gaining a promotion to brigadier general in February 1984. In 1985 he returned to Washington as Director of the Facilities and Services Division at Marine HQ. 1987 saw Hoar accept a position as Commanding General at the Parris Island recruiting depot; later that year he was promoted to major general.

Hoar moved to MacDill AFB, Florida in 1988 as Chief of Staff for U.S. Central Command. He returned to Headquarters Marine Corps in June of 1990, earning a promotion to lieutenant general while serving there as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies and Operations. After a year at this assignment he returned to CENTCOM as its commander on August 9, 1991, relieving General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. He remained in that capacity until his retirement three years later.

While in command of CENTCOM, General Hoar oversaw a number of different operations in the region, including enforcement of the Persian Gulf and Red Sea naval embargo, enforcement of the southern no-fly zone over Iraq, ground operations in Somalia, and American troop evacuation from Yemen during that country's civil war in 1994.

After retirement, he set up a consulting company involved in business ventures in various places in the Middle East and Africa. He has served as Director of Hawaiian Airlines, as a Fellow of the World Economic Forum, and on the boards of trustees of Suffolk University and the Center for Naval Analyses.

General Hoar drew upon his experience with CENTCOM in the days leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq to stress the importance of allied cooperation, notably the ability to base military operations from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey, as key to success in the region [1] (http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/transcripts/2002/oct/021030.gjelten.html). As U.S. strategy for the invasion coalesced, Hoar expressed misgivings, in particular regarding the number of troops committed to the operation [2] (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/s803482.htm).

A year after the official cessation of hostilities, Hoar continued to maintain that coalition forces did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish their mission [3] (http://www.tnr.com/etc.mhtml?week=2003-03-30) [4] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/opinion/02HOAR.asp). In December of 2003 Hoar stated that Assistant Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, "...doesn't know much about the business he's in" [5] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A22921-2003Dec22&notFound=true). In testimony before the Senate committee on foreign relations on May 19, 2004, he stated regarding the situation in Iraq, "I believe we are absolutely on the brink of failure. We are looking into the abyss" [6] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1220792,00.html).

Hoar holds a masters degree from George Washington University and is also a graduate of the National War College and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. His military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal (with gold star and Valor device), Meritorious Service Medal (with gold star), Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (with three service stars), and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Foreign decorations include the Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation. He is also authorized the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge