USNA Commandant J.P. McDonough Visits Rotary

RCB President Chuck Redden with Col. McDonough

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Col. James P. McDonough III, 89th Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Col. McDonough discussed the mission of USNA to develop leaders of character. He explained the experiential learning opportunities available to students and the career paths for which they are prepared during their four years at Annapolis.

RCB President Chuck Redden, who served in the U.S. Navy, invited area Rotarian veterans, USNA alumni and parents of current midshipmen to attend the meeting and a reception with the Commandant.

"I talk a lot about living honorably, the daily struggle of making good decisions and learning from your mistakes," said Col. McDonough. "You're not here just to get a degree, you're not here just to have fun. You're here to be ready to lead, to be a warrior...This is why they came to the Naval Academy. They came to be challenged. They came to be tested."

Bio for Colonel James P. McDonough, III, USMC 

Colonel “J.P.” McDonough graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering and was commissioned in May 1994.

A career artillery officer, Colonel McDonough’s operational assignments include: platoon commander with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines; Kilo Battery Commander, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines in support of Operations Swift and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; battalion operations officer, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment; officer in charge, Embedded Training Team 6-5, Afghan National Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; regimental executive officer, 12th Marine and 11th Marine Regiments; commander, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines; and most recently as commander, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.

Colonel McDonough’s staff and joint tours include serving as the executive assistant to the Deputy Commandant, Plans, Policies, and Operations at U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters in the Pentagon; the Joint Staff where he served as an action officer and division chief in the J39, Deputy Directorate for Global Operations; a modeling and simulation analyst for training systems and project officer for multiple simulation programs at USMC Training and Education Command; and staff platoon commander at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia.

Colonel McDonough assumed his duties as the 89th Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in June 2021.

His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and various unit and service awards. He earned a master’s degree in modeling, virtual environments, and simulation from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005, and graduated with distinction from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at National Defense University in 2014.