FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

(WASHINGTON, DC—April 25, 2005) Marine General Peter Pace has been nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George W. Bush on Friday, April 22. General Pace helped shape the Pentagon’s role in the global war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“The Foundation is proud that such a distinguished individual of Italian ancestry has been nominated for this prestigious position,” NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli, said.

General Pace, whose father emigrated from Brindisi, Italy, would succeed Air Force General Richard B. Meyers. General Pace is the first Marine selected for the nation’s top uniformed military post. General Pace reached four-star rank in 2000. He is only the second to rise from vice chairman. Myers, due to retire in September, was the first.

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, General Pace graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a master’s degree in business administration from George Washington University. He attended Harvard University for the Senior Executives in National and International Security program. After basic training in 1968, he was sent to Vietnam as a rifle platoon leader. He later served in Korea and was commander for two years during the Somalia intervention that ended in a U.S. withdrawal.

After his return from Vietnam in 1969 he served as head infantry writer at the Marine Corps Institute in Washington, and then as security detachment commander at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.

General Pace is married and has a son and daughter.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and dedicated to preserving the heritage of Italian Americans. Visit www.niaf.org