Guy C. Swan III

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Guy C. Swan III


Allegiance	United States Army
Years of service	1976 - present
Rank	Major General
Commands	Military District of Washington/Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region
Battles/wars	Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Ranger Tab Parachutist Badge

Major General Guy C. Swan III of the United States Army, is the commanding general of the Military District of Washington (CG MDW) and Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR).

[edit] Military career

Swan was commissioned as an armor officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in June 1976. After graduation and initial officer training, he served in Korea as a tank platoon leader in the 2nd Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor. Upon returning to the United States in 1978, he joined the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, serving as a cavalry platoon leader, troop executive officer, and squadron adjutant.

From 1982 to 1985 he was the commanding officer of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington, and later served as aide-de-camp to the commanding general, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized). From 1985 to 1987 Swan served as an Armor Branch assignment officer in Washington, DC. He graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1988 and from the School of Advanced Military Studies in 1989.

Swan then served as the chief, G3 Plans for the 1st Armored Division, VII Corps, US Army Europe and Seventh Army in Ansbach, Germany, and later as the division's deputy G3 (Operations) in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1991 he returned to the cavalry, joining the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse), V Corps, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army where he served as the executive officer of the 1st Squadron in Kuwait during Operation Positive Force, and as the regimental executive officer in Fulda, Germany.

General Swan escorts Betty Ford during former President Gerald Ford's state funeral.

Swan commanded the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank unit, in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Ga., from July 1993 to July 1995. He then completed a year-long National Security Fellowship at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

From June 1996 to June 1998 Swan was the regimental commander for the 2500-soldier 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse), serving as the 57th colonel of the regiment and as the commander of the Opposing Forces (OPFOR) at the US Army's National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California.

Swan served at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, from June 1998 to August 2000 as the assistant deputy director for strategy and policy (J-5) for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He took up a training mission again, this time as commanding general of the 7th Army Training Command (7th ATC), which he led from September 2000 to August 2002 at the Grafenwoehr/Hohenfels Training Area in Upper Bavaria, Germany. In that capacity, he was responsible for supporting the military training readiness of the 65,000 US Army Soldiers based in Europe.

Returning to Washington, DC, Swan became the Army's "pointman" on Capital Hill, serving as the Army's Chief of Legislative Liaison from August 2002 to July 2005. Swan became the CG MDW/JFHQ-NCR on July 21, 2005.

As the CG MDW/JFHQ-NCR, Swan drew world attention when he escorted Betty Ford during the nine days in December 2006 and January 2007 that marked the death and state funeral of her husband, former U.S. president Gerald Ford. His immediate predecessor, Major General Galen B. Jackman, escorted former First Lady Nancy Reagan at the state funeral of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.