UMUC Asia - Okinawa Commencement Speaker

MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT E. SCHMIDLE JR.

Major General Robert E. “Rooster” Schmidle, Jr. is a native of Newtown, Connecticut. He graduated from Drew University with a bachelor of arts in history and earned a master of arts in philosophy from American University. He is a distinguished graduate and prior faculty member of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and is also a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps War College.

Major General Schmidle’s first assignment after completion of flight training was with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 333. He later served as the NATOPS officer of Marine Aircraft Group-31. In 1983, Major General Schmidle transferred to VMFAT-101 in Yuma, Arizona, for assignment as an instructor pilot. In 1986, Major General Schmidle reported to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, and served as operations officer and air officer. In 1987, he transitioned from the F-4 Phantom to the F/A-18 Hornet and was aircraft maintenance officer, operations officer and, in 1990, executive officer of VMFA-333, deployed to Southwest Asia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In 1992, Major General Schmidle returned to Marine Air Group (MAG)-31 as operations officer. In 1993, he became commanding officer of VMFA-251 where in 1994, the squadron deployed to Aviano, Italy, in support of Operations Deny Flight and Provide Promise. In 1995, he served as executive officer of MAG-31 before assuming command of VMFA-115 and completing a unit deployment to the Western Pacific.

In 1997, Major General Schmidle became second in command, and later commanding officer, of the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (Experimental) (SPMAGTF (X)), participating in the first two USMC Advanced Warfighting Experiments (AWE), Hunter Warrior, Urban Warrior, and numerous other experiments.

Major General Schmidle’s next assignment was as Division Chief of the Dominant Maneuver Joint Warfighting Capability Assessment Division, J-8, Joint Staff. At the completion of his joint tour in 2002, he served as the Military Secretary to both the 32nd and 33rd Commandants of the Marine Corps before becoming the director of Expeditionary Force Development Center (EFDC) in July 2003.

In March 2005 Major General Schmidle assumed duties as Deputy Chief of Staff for Integrated Product Team (IPT) 1 for the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) 2006 before returning to Joint Staff, J-8, in March 2006 as Deputy Director for Resources and Acquisition. Major General Schmidle most recently served on the Joint Staff, J8 as Deputy Director for Resources and Acquisition.