Our twenty-sixth recipient, Major General James B. Wellons, completed the AMP at Harvard Business School in October 2018. Jim is a Marine aviator from Victoria, VA, and is currently serving as Commanding General, 3rd Marine Air Wing in San Diego, CA. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1992, earned his wings as a naval aviator in 1995, and was selected to fly the AV-8B Harrier. Jim has extensive operational and tactical experience in the AV-8B, including deployments aboard amphibious shipping as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit and combat experience from multiple deployments to the Mediterranean and Iraq. He more recently served as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs at HQMC P&R, Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces, Japan, Assistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Commanding Officer for Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1, and he commanded the first Marine F-35B squadron, VMFAT-501. His staff assignments include: TACAIR Branch Head at Headquarters, Marine Corps Aviation; Executive Officer to the Combatant Commander, U.S. Southern Command; Lead Planner for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command. He is also a graduate of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course, and served various squadron billets in operations, aviation maintenance, aviation safety and pilot training. Jim graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in Political Science in 1992, graduated from The Basic School in 1993, and completed flight school in 1995. He was awarded a Masters of Airpower Art and Science from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies in 2007, and a Masters of National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in 2013.
Jim and his wife, Grayson, have three children.