Scott Gration

Scott Gration
Official U.S. Department of State photograph of Scott Gration as U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan
Birth name	Jonathan Scott Gration
Born	St. Charles, Illinois
Allegiance	United States Air Force
Years of service	1974–2006
Rank	Major General
Commands held	4404th Operations Group (Provisional), 39th Air and Space Expeditionary Wing, 3rd Wing
Battles/wars	Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Provide Comfort, Operation Southern Watch, Operation Northern Watch
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart

Jonathan Scott Gration is a retired Major General of the United States Air Force, who worked as a policy advisor to President Barack Obama. On March 18, 2009, Gration was named, and served, as the United States Special Envoy to Sudan. President Obama announced his intent to nominate General Gration as United States Ambassador to Kenya on February 10, 2011. His nomination was transmitted to the United States Senate on February 14, 2011 and now currently serves as US ambassador to Kenya.

Early life and education

Gration was born in St. Charles, Illinois, the son of Dorothy E. (née Harpel) and John Alexander Gration. His paternal grandparents were English. He grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his parents worked as missionaries. The first sentence he ever spoke was in Swahili, and he has been a Swahili speaker his entire life. During the Congo Crisis in the early 1960s, his family was evacuated three times and became refugees.

After his family returned to the United States, he studied at Rutgers University, where he enlisted in the ROTC program and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He earned a master's degree in national security studies from Georgetown University in Washington in 1988.

Military career

Upon graduating from Rutgers, his "low draft number" motivated him to join the United States Air Force in September 1974. While serving, he "sometimes took leaves of absence to work on village projects in Uganda and elsewhere." After initial pilot training, Gration trained as an instructor, and instructed trainees on both the T-38 and F-5, reaching the rank of Captain. In 1980, he worked for two years as an F-5 instructor in Kenya, following which he was selected as a White House Fellow and spent a year assisting Dr. Hans Mark, the Deputy Administrator of NASA.

Returning to flight service, he trained on the F-16, and then spent two years as an instructor and flight commander, being promoted to Major. In December 1985 he was posted to USAF Headquarters in Washington to advise on international political and military affairs in the Office of Regional Plans and Policy. During this time, he received a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.

From January 1988 he attended the Armed Forces Staff College for six months, then was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed to a staff position in 6th Allied Tactical Air Force in Izmir, Turkey. In September 1990, he returned to flying service, as an instructor pilot and operations officer for the 512th Fighter Squadron, and in August 1991 he was appointed Chief of Safety for the 86th Fighter Wing, both based at Ramstein AB, Germany. During this period, he also flew combat missions supporting Operation Provide Comfort.

From June 1992 he spent a year studying at the National War College, followed by two years of staff duties in Washington, including a six-month period as an Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and as a planner for the National Security Council.

In mid-1995, now promoted to Colonel, he returned to flight service, and that June took up command of the 4404th Operations Group (Provisional) in Saudi Arabia. He held command until July 1996, and was in command of the group at the time of the Khobar Towers bombing. In August 1996, he was transferred to command the 39th Wing in Turkey, and held the post for two and a half years, overseeing the start of Operation Northern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq. In mid-1998 he was transferred to command 3rd Wing in Alaska, and held command until January 2000. In October 1999, he was promoted to Brigadier-General.

Through 2000 and 2001 he was Deputy Director for Operations (J-39, responsible for information operations) in the Joint Staff in Washington - as a result of which he was in the Pentagon when it was hit on September 11, 2001 - and then spent a year and a half as Director of Regional Affairs for the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs; during the last six months of this period, January to June 2003, he was promoted to Major-General and commanded Joint Task Force-West during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In August 2003 he was appointed Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, and in June 2004 the Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy Directorate of United States European Command.

In the course of his career Gration recorded more than 5,000 flying hours, including 1,000 hours of combat and combat support time in 274 combat missions over Iraq. He was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit, as well as the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and twenty nine other decorations.

According to Newsweek:

Gration’s résumé is bristling with real-world military experience that earned him seven rows of ribbons during a 32-year Air Force career. As a fighter pilot, he flew 274 missions over Iraq during and after the first Persian Gulf War, occasionally encountering Iraqi ground fire, and he commanded a task force during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Gration was also in command of the unit at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that lost 18 of the 19 U.S. personnel killed in a terrorist explosion in 1996. And he happened to be at the Pentagon when the plane hit on 9/11.

Military Promotion

• Second Lieutenant Jan. 24, 1974
• First Lieutenant July 24, 1976
• Captain July 24, 1978
• Major May 1, 1985
• Lieutenant Colonel June 1, 1988
• Colonel Jan. 1, 1995
• Brigadier General Oct. 1, 1999
• Major General April 1, 2003

Political activity

Gration voted for George W. Bush in 2000. In 2006, he traveled to Africa on a five-nation, fifteen-day, fact-finding tour, accompanying Senator Barack Obama as an "African expert". He later endorsed Obama's presidential campaign, citing that Obama had the "judgment, wisdom, courage, experience, and leadership capability that we desperately need."

In 2007, the Obama campaign "beg[a]n sending Gration out on the stump . . . in an effort to improve the inexperienced senator’s image on national security." According to Obama foreign policy advisor Denis McDonough, Gration was "considered one of Obama’s three top military advisers, along with Richard Danzig, the former secretary of the Navy during the Clinton administration, and Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff."

Civil Service

After retiring from the Air Force, General Gration served as CEO of Millennium Villages, an organization dedicated to reducing extreme poverty. He then joined the Safe Water Network where he helped to provide safe water to vulnerable populations in India, Bangladesh, and Ghana. In January 2009 it was speculated that he would be nominated to be the 12th administrator of NASA, replacing Michael Griffin.

United States Special Envoy to Sudan

On March 17, 2009, General Gration was named U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, along with Dr. Mark Emblidge, who will design education programs for Sudan.

United States Ambassador to Kenya

President Obama announced his intent to nominate General Gration as United States Ambassador to Kenya on February 10, 2011. His nomination was transmitted to the United States Senate on February 14, 2011. If confirmed, General Gration would take over for Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, who served for nearly five years as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.

External links

• "Gration, Scott" - Official Biography - U.S. Department of State.
• Major General Jonathan Scott Gration - Official Air Force bio.
• "Hero-Worshipping Obama" - Michael Hirsh, Newsweek, 2 August 2007.