Lieutenant General Sam Mundy retired after 38 years in the Marine Corps and currently serves as President of Once a Marine LLC. Before retiring Sam served as the Commander, Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MARCENT), responsible for the employment of Marines in the Middle East. While at MARCENT he oversaw the training and certification of USCENTCOM’s Standing Joint Task Force, developed and marketed the concept for a regional rapid response force, and oversaw the re-basing of Marines from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia. Concurrently, from 2019-20, he established the U.S. Central Command (Forward) Headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and served as its first Director after the attacks on ARAMCO facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais.
Sam previously commanded Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, leading the organization to develop its foundational vision, MARSOF 2030. Prior to this, he lived in Bahrain where he commanded the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Naval Task Force 51 comprised of Marines and Sailors engaged in active operations and security cooperation activities across the region. From 2011-2013 he also served as the Executive Officer to the USCENTCOM Commander, traveling with him throughout the Gulf, Levant and Central and South Asia.
During his career as an infantry officer, Sam also worked in a variety of staff and training assignments. He studied Foreign Policy at The Brookings Institution, worked on Capitol Hill as the Director of the Marine Corps Senate Liaison Office, served as the Chief of Staff at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) and oversaw the Marine Corps’ Strategy and Plans office in the Pentagon. In addition to his time in the Middle East, Sam has deployed around the world and led forces on both land and sea.
Education
Auburn University, Bachelor of Science in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations
Averett University Master of Business Administration
Graduate, School of Advanced Warfighting, Marine Corps University
Countries/regions of expertise
The Gulf, Levant, Central and South Asia, Yemen, Iran.
Issues of Expertise
National Security, Military Affairs, Middle East policy, Security Cooperation
Defense Rapid Reaction: Israel expands its war aims to neutralize Hezbollah
In the latest installment of the Defense Rapid Reaction series, experts from MEI’s Defense & Security Program provide their views on the likely evolution of the Israeli-Hezbollah war, the potential for the conflict to draw in outside actors, as well as the impact of the war on global terrorist recruitment and appeal for extremist activities.
President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”1 Roosevelt used the image of the big stick to popularize his philosophy, but he offered a subtler interpretation in other venues. It represented a quiet threat that would only rarely need to be used if accompanied by steady diplomacy.
On the anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan
On Aug. 30, 2021, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, boarded the last U.S. military flight out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. For many, the image of the final American soldier stepping onto a C-17 military transport plane marked the end of the war. But even as we remember the chaotic end of America’s longest war, we should also recall the sublime acts of loyalty and resolve that took place simultaneously.
