Mark Kimmitt

Mark Kimmitt
16th Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
In office
August 8, 2008 – January 20, 2009
President George W. Bush
Preceded by John Hillen
Succeeded by Andrew J. Shapiro
Personal details
Born Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt
(1954-06-21) June 21, 1954
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Spouse(s) Catherine Kimmitt
Children none
Alma mater United States Military Academy
Profession US Army officer
Politician
Awards Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
NATO Medal (3)
Military service
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1976–2007
Rank Brigadier General
Battles/wars Bosnian War
Kosovo War
Iraq War

Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt[1] (born 21 June 1954) was the 16th Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, serving under George W. Bush from August 2008 to January 2009.[2] Prior to joining the State Department, he was a Brigadier General in the United States Army, and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East.[1] Kimmitt has also served as Deputy Director for Strategy and Plans for the United States Central Command, and Deputy Director for Operations/Chief Military Spokesman for Coalition Forces in Iraq,[1] and served at NATO's SHAPE headquarters in Belgium.

Personal background

Kimmitt was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma,[3] while his father was stationed there. His older brother Robert also served in the U.S. Army and was the former United States Ambassador to Germany. Their father, Joseph Stanley Kimmitt, was the Secretary of the United States Senate and Secretary for the Majority from 1977 to 1981.

He is married to Catherine Kimmitt.[4]

Education

Kimmitt graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point as a part of the class of 1976,[5] and earned a Masters in Business Administration degree, graduating with distinction, from Harvard University as part of the class of 1984.[6] He also received master's degrees from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the National Defense University.[1] He earned a certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) while serving as Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy.

Military career

Kimmitt retired from the US Army a Brigadier General in December 2006.[7] While in the Army, Kimmitt had command and staff assignments throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including planning positions within both Allied and Joint service commands. Additionally, he spent three years as an assistant professor and instructor with the Military Academy’s Department of Social Sciences.[5]

Kimmitt's professional military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic and Armor Officer Advanced Courses, the Army Command and General Staff College, the Advanced Military Studies Program, and the National War College.[4] Additionally, Brigadier General Kimmitt completed Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster, Naval Gunfire, Joint Firepower Control, Air Assault, Pathfinder, and Jungle Schools.[4]

Timeline

Kimmitt's military service:

Awards and decorations

Kimmitt's distinctive awards and decorations include the following:[4]

United States awards

Foreign and international awards

Government career

Subsequent to retiring from the Army in 2006, Kimmitt served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, responsible for military policy development, planning, guidance and oversight for the region.[7] Kimmitt served in this position until July 31, 2008, before being nominated as Assistant Secretary of State. Kimmitt's nomination was delayed because of two investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,[8] but was ultimately confirmed, and was sworn as Assistant Secretary of State on August 8, 2008.[7] In this role, Kimmitt was responsible for State Department political-military policy, with particular emphasis on security assistance and sales of arms around the world, as well as serving as the primary liaison between the Departments of State and Defense. He was also instrumental in recent counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, and negotiated the groundbreaking arrangements for the prosecution of pirates abroad.[2] He left office in January 2009.

Controversy

In the aftermath of the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre, Kimmitt claimed, "There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration. There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too." However video footage obtained by the Associated Press seems to contradict this view. The video shows a series of scenes of a wedding celebration, and footage from the following day showing fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around a destroyed tent.[9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Presidential Nomination". The White House. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  2. 1 2 "Middle East Strategy at Harvard". Harvard University. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  3. ↑ "Wayback Wednesday: West Point founded". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK T. KIMMITT" (PDF). BritishAmerican Business Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  5. 1 2 3 "Iraq: Mission Continued?". The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  6. ↑ "New Horizons for Iraq". Harvard Business School Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  7. 1 2 3 "Kimmitt, Mark". Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  8. ↑ Al Kamen (April 30, 2008). "But His Dad Was a Good Guy". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  9. ↑ AP, Iraq Wedding-Party Video Backs Survivors' Claims," 24 May 2004
  10. ↑ McCartyh, Rory (2004-05-25). "Wedding party video casts doubt on American version of attack that killed 42". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
Government offices
Preceded by
John Hillen		 Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs
August 8, 2008 – January 20, 2009 		Succeeded by
Andrew J. Shapiro
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