James Cartwright

James Edward "Hoss" Cartwright (born September 22, 1949) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who last served as the eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007, to August 3, 2011. He previously served as the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, from September 1, 2004, to August 10, 2007, and as Acting Commander, U.S. Strategic Command from July 9, 2004, to September 1, 2004. He retired from the Marine Corps on August 3, 2011, after nearly 40 years of service.

Cartwright was accused of providing classified information that was published in the book Confront and Conceal by David Sanger. During the course of the investigation, Cartwright agreed to be interviewed by the FBI without a lawyer present. He was indicted for lying to the FBI regarding the time and locations of meetings with Sanger. but was pardoned and had his security clearance restored

Early life and education Cartwright was born on September 22, 1949, in Rockford, Illinois, and attended West High School before going on to the University of Iowa. While there he was a scholarship swimmer for the Iowa Hawkeyes. His callsign comes from the fictional character Eric "Hoss" Cartwright, the middle brother on the classic 1960s TV show Bonanza, who was played by actor Dan Blocker.

Cartwright's operational assignments include: Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (2000–2002); Deputy Commanding General Marine Forces Atlantic (1999–2000); Commander Marine Aircraft Group 31 (1994–1996); Commander Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (1992); Fixed Wing Operations Marine Aircraft Group 24 (1991); Commander Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 (1989–1990); Administration Officer and Officer-In-Charge Deployed Carrier Operations VMFAT-101 (1983–1985); Aircraft Maintenance Officer VMFA-235 (1979–1982); Line Division Officer VMFA-333 (1975–1977); Embarkation OIC VMFA-251 & 232 (1973–1975).

From July 9, 2004, to September 1, 2004, Lieutenant General Cartwight served as Acting Commander, United States Strategic Command while awaiting official assumption of office and promotion as Strategic Command's new commander. On September 1, 2004, Cartwright was sworn in as Commander, United States Strategic Command. He was promoted to full general on the same day. (Jan. 28, 2009) President Barack Obama, with Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff; Gen. George W. Casey, U.S. Army chief of staff; Gen. James E. Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during the President's first visit to the Pentagon as the Commander-in-Chief.

Cartwright (left) and Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England watching the progress of an SM-3 anti-ballistic missile in 2008

On June 8, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended Cartwright to be the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to replace retiring Admiral Edmund Giambastiani. President George W. Bush formally announced the nomination, with that of Admiral Michael Mullen to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on June 28, 2007.

Senator John Warner of Virginia, the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated, "General Cartwright has an extraordinary grasp and understanding of the global posture that America must maintain in this era of new and ever-changing threats".

Cartwright's nomination was confirmed by the full Senate on August 3, 2007. Due to the retirement of Admiral Giambastiani on July 27, 2007, Cartwright assumed the position immediately upon confirmation. He was sworn in on August 31, 2007, as the 8th Vice Chairman. On March 18, 2009, Secretary of Defense Gates announced that Cartwright had been nominated for a second term as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 2009.

The military investigated Cartwright in 2009 and 2010 for possible misconduct involving a female Marine captain, and investigators recommended administrative action for "failure to discipline a subordinate" and "fostering an unduly familiar relationship". Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, however, reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to warrant corrective action for even the lesser offenses. He stated, "I do not agree with the conclusion that General Cartwright maintained an 'unduly familiar relationship' with his aide. Nor do I agree that General Cartwright's execution of his leadership responsibilities vis-à-vis his aide or any other member of his staff was inconsistent with the leadership requirements". Questions about how he oversaw his staff, however, were mentioned as a reason Cartwright had fallen out as the favored candidate of President Obama for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2011. Army chief Gen. Martin Dempsey was named to the post. "Some Republicans [had] ... quietly criticized Gen. Cartwright, calling him 'Obama's general,'" one report at the time also said.

Cartwright held his retirement ceremony on August 3, 2011. During the ceremony, Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III presented Cartwright his fourth Defense Distinguished Service Medal. He also received the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard distinguished service medals.

Dates of rank

Military awards and badges Cartwright received the following decorations, awards, and badges:

Naval Aviator insigniaNaval Flight Officer insigniaDefense Distinguished Service Medal w/ three oak leaf clustersNavy Distinguished Service MedalArmy Distinguished Service MedalAir Force Distinguished Service MedalCoast Guard Distinguished Service MedalMeritorious Service MedalLegion of Merit w/ one " Gold StarNavy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ one " Gold StarNavy and Marine Corps Achievement MedalJoint Meritorious Unit Award w/ four oak leaf clustersNavy Unit CommendationNavy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ two " bronze starsNational Defense Service Medal w/ two " bronze starsGlobal War on Terrorism Service MedalKorea Defense Service MedalNavy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ one " silver starOffice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

Leak investigation, conviction, and pardon In June 2013, it was reported that Cartwright had received a target letter from the U.S. Justice Department, informing him that he was under investigation for leaking classified information about Stuxnet, a computer virus used in a U.S.-Israel cyberattack against centrifuges in Iranian nuclear facilities (see Operation Olympic Games). Federal investigators reportedly suspected that Cartwright leaked details of the operation to a New York Times reporter.

In March 2015, the Washington Post reported that the sensitive leak investigation, led by Rod Rosenstein, had "stalled amid concerns that a prosecution in federal court could force the government to confirm" information about the highly classified program.

Outgoing President Barack Obama pardoned Cartwright on January 17, 2017, two weeks prior to his scheduled sentencing hearing. In addition, Cartwright serves as a member of the board of directors of The Raytheon Company, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, and as a defense consultant for ABC News.

Cartwright is an advisor for several corporate entities involved in global management consulting, technology services and program solutions, predictive and big data analytics, and advanced systems engineering, integration, and decision-support services. He serves as an advisor to the board of directors for Accenture, Enlightenment Capital, IxReveal, Logos Technologies, Opera Solutions, and TASC Inc. He is also affiliated with a number of professional organizations, including the Aspen Strategy Group, The Atlantic Council, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Sanya Initiative.

Cartwright is also a leading advocate for the phased and verified elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide ("Global Zero (campaign)"). In October 2011, he spoke at the Global Zero Summit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and currently serves as Chair of the Global Zero U.S. Nuclear Policy Commission, which in May 2012 released its report, "Modernizing U.S. Nuclear Force Structure and Policy," calling for the United States and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals 80% to 900 total weapons each, which would pave the way to bringing other nuclear weapons countries into the first-in-history multilateral nuclear arms negotiations.

In June 2015, Cartwright was a signatory to a public letter written by a bipartisan group of 19 U.S. diplomats, experts, and others, on the then-pending negotiations for an agreement between Iran and world powers over Iran's nuclear program. That letter outlined concerns about several provisions in the then-unfinished agreement and called for a number of improvements to strengthen the prospective agreement and win the letter-writers' support for it.

Government civilian positions 2011–2013: Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Member 2014: National Defense Panel, United States Institute of Peace