Lieutenant General Joseph R. Clearfield was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1993. He is currently assigned as the Commander of Marine Forces Central Command.
His past assignments include: Platoon Commander and Executive Officer, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines during Operation Uphold/ Restore Democracy in Haiti and Operation Assured Response in Liberia attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable); Commanding Officer, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines attached to11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) during Operation Enduring Freedom and Regimental Combat Team 1 during Operation Iraqi Freedom; Operations Officer, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom II including Operation Vigilant Resolve in Fallujah, Iraq; Commanding Officer, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit where he served as Mission Commander for recapture of the M/V Magellan Star. Commanding Officer 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit during their WESTPAC 17-2 deployment.
His staff assignments include: Operations Officer and Executive Officer, Recruiting Station Baltimore, Maryland; Head Coach, Naval Academy Sprint Football Team; Current Operations Group Section Head, Plans, Policies, and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps; Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian Pacific Security Affairs in OSD-Policy; Operations Officer, Command Element 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Bahrain; Chief of Staff, Marine Forces Cyber Command.
As a General Officer, LtGen Clearfield has served the Deputy Commander of Marine Forces Pacific and the Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
He is a graduate of The Basic School, Infantry Officers Course, Command & Staff College, Amphibious Warfare School, Airborne School (Honor Graduate), Naval Senior Officers Legal Course, and the Recruiting Management Course. He also earned a Master’s of Science in Resource Strategy at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (Distinguished Graduate), a Master’s of Science from Duquesne University, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (AMP).