BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN LIEUTENANT GENERAL WALTER GASKIN : A FIRST CLASS MILITARY OFFICER : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS"

Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin assumed his duties as the Deputy Chairman, NATO Military Committee, Brussels, Belgium on March 22, 2010.

BLACK    SOCIAL   HISTORY

Lieutenant General Gaskin served as the Commanding General of the 2d Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, NC from June 2006 until July 2008. In addition to this role, he simultaneously served as the Commanding General of II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). During this tour, Lieutenant General Gaskin led II MEF (FWD) during its year-long deployment to Al Anbar Province, Iraq as the Commanding General of Multinational Forces-West.
Previous assignments as a General Officer include service as the Vice Director of The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. from July 2008 until May 2009 and as the Commanding General of Marine Corps Recruiting Command in Quantico, VA beginning in September 2002. Additionally, he served as the Chief of Staff, Naval Striking and Support Forces-Southern Europe and as the Deputy Commanding General, Fleet Marine Forces-Europe in Naples, Italy from 2002 to 2004. Lieutenant General Gaskin's first assignment as a General Officer was the Commanding General, Training and Education Command in Quantico in March 2000.
In addition to his time as Commanding General, Lieutenant General Gaskin has served four times with the 2d Marine Division (3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines; 6th Marine Regiment; and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines). During his assignment to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, Lieutenant General Gaskin was the Commanding Officer and also served as the Commanding Officer of Battalion Landing Team 2/2 when the battalion was assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), II MEF for deployment as Landing Force-6th Fleet (LF6F) during Operations Assured Response and Quick Response in defense of American Embassies in Liberia and The Central African Republic.
Lieutenant General Gaskin's other previous assignments with II MEF include service as the G-3 Current Operations Action Officer and Operations Officer for II MEF (FWD) supporting Exercise Battle Griffin in Norway; Head of Expeditionary Operations for II MEF G-3; and as Commanding Officer of 22nd MEU (SOC) during deployment as LF6F, participating in Exercises Bright Star 99/00 in Egypt and Infinite Moonlight in Jordan and acting as the Strategic Reserve for operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.
In addition to his service at Camp Lejeune, Lieutenant General Gaskin has also served with 3rd Force Service Support Group (Echo and Foxtrot Logistics Support Units); 3rd Marine Division (Division Command Center) in Okinawa, Japan; and with Combined Forces Command C/J-3, Seoul, South Korea as the Head of Ground Forces Branch. Lieutenant General Gaskin's supporting establishment service includes assignment as Series Commander and Company Commanding at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC; Marine Officer Instructor, Savannah State University NROTC Unit; Assistant Officer Selection Officer, Recruiting Station Macon, GA; Action Officer in charge of Unit Environmental Training Programs for Marine Corps Combat Development Center; and Ground Colonels' Monitor at Headquarters Marine Corps.

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A 1974 graduate from Savannah State University's NROTC Program with a Bachelor of Science, Lieutenant General Gaskin also earned a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. He has also completed the Senior Executive Seminar from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University in 2002. His professional military education includes The Basic School and Amphibious Warfare School (1982–83) in Quantico; the United States Army Command and Staff College, Leavenworth, KS (1986–1987); the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA (1993–1994); and the Combined/Joint Force Land Component Command (C/JFLCC) Course, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle