Major General Gordon Nash, USMC (Ret.)

Major General Gordon C. Nash retired from the United States Marine Corps on 1 June 2006, with nearly 35 years of active service. He is currently serving as a Vice President for Strategic Planning for the Sierra Nevada Corporation, a world-class prime systems integrator and electronic systems provider known for its rapid, innovative, and agile technology solutions.

Major General Nash is the son of a career Navy Officer. After graduating from Hampden-Sydney College, he completed Officer Candidates School and received his commission in December 1971. His Marine Corps assignments have included tours with Marine Corps Operating Forces in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Marine Divisions, and with I, II and III Marine Expeditionary Forces. He has commanded Marine Corps organizations from the platoon to the division level, and served at different times as executive officer, operations officer, and logistics officer in a variety of units. In August 1986, Major General Nash was selected to reactivate and command the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. He has served as the Commanding Officer of the 2d Marine Regiment, Commanding General, 3rd Force Service Support Group, Commanding General, 3rd Marine Division, and as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic.

Major General Nash has served tours outside Marine Corps operating forces at the Officer Candidates School; Officer Assignment Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps; with the Plans and Operations Divisions, Plans, Policy and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps; with Observer Group Lebanon with the UN Truce Supervision Organization-Palestine; with the Special Forces Schools, Fort Bragg, NC; and with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, NC. During the assignment with JSOC, he also served as the J-3 for Task Force Ranger in Somalia. In the spring of 1998, he commanded Joint Task Force Auburn Endeavor in support of Department of Energy efforts in Tbilisi, Georgia. From January 2002 to July 2004, he served as Commander, Joint Warfighting Center and Director, Joint Training J7, United States Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, Virginia. Major General Nash's last assignment was as the Director of Expeditionary Warfare, N-85 on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations' with the responsibility for validating and resourcing requirements for Amphibious Shipping, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Mine Warfare, and Navy Special Warfare programs.

Major General Nash's personal awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with Gold Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Army Special Forces Tab, the Navy and Marine Corps Parachute Insignia, the Marine Corps Combatant Diver Insignia, the Army Master Parachutist Insignia, the British Army Parachutist Insignia, and the Royal Thai Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia.