He retired from Army on May 1, 2011, after 36 years of service.
Don't Ask Don't Telledit
On March 8, 2010, Lt Gen Mixon wrote a letter to the editor of Stars and Stripes outlining his opposition to a proposed repeal of the Pentagon's Don't ask, don't tell policy.[6] In the letter, Mixon challenged the notion that the majority of service members support a change in the policy and advocated both service members and their families to speak out in opposition to any change. Both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen publicly rebuked Mixon saying that because of Mixon's status as an active military general such a public statement was "inappropriate". Although some recommended it,[who?] he was never formally reprimanded for his actions. On March 31, 2010, Army Secretary John McHugh said, “We consider the matter closed as of today,” and went on to say that Mixon would "not be reprimanded or asked to resign" because of the comments.[7]
benjamin, mixon, benjamin, randaulph, randy, mixon, born, march, 1953, retired, lieutenant, general, united, states, army, last, served, commanding, general, united, states, army, pacific, prior, that, mixon, served, commander, multi, national, division, north. Benjamin Randaulph Randy Mixon born March 6 1953 1 is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army who last served as commanding general of United States Army Pacific Prior to that Mixon served as the commander of the Multi National Division North in Iraq Benjamin R MixonLieutenant General Mixon as Commanding General of U S Army Pacific CommandBorn 1953 03 06 March 6 1953 age 71 Allegiance United States of AmericaService wbr branch United States ArmyYears of service1975 2011RankLieutenant GeneralCommands heldUnited States Army Pacific 25th Infantry Division 1st Brigade 327th Infantry Regiment 3rd Battalion 325th Regiment Company C 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment Company B 1st Battalion 15th Infantry Regiment Company commander 2nd Battalion 505th Infantry RegimentBattles warsOperation Desert ShieldOperation Desert StormOperation Enduring FreedomOperation Iraqi FreedomAwardsArmy Distinguished Service MedalDefense Superior Service Medal 3 Legion of Merit 4 He retired from Army on May 1 2011 after 36 years of service 2 Contents 1 Early life 2 Army career 3 Don t Ask Don t Tell 4 Awards and decorations 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editIn 1975 Mixon graduated from North Georgia College one of the six Senior military colleges in the United States Army career editMixon was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry in 1975 and was subsequently assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 505th Parachute Regiment 82nd Airborne Division He served as both a platoon leader and company commander After the 82nd Mixon attended and then graduated from the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and was reassigned to the 3rd Infantry Division Mechanized in Wurzburg While there he served on the division staff and commanded Company B of the 1st Battalion of the 15th Infantry Regiment in Kitzingen Germany His subsequent assignments include duty as assistant operations officer Readiness Group Knox at Fort Knox and as company commander for Company C 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and liaison officer for the 75th Ranger Regiment From 1988 to 1991 Mixon served as the executive officer of the 3rd Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment and chief of plans for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell It was during this tour that Mixon deployed to Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm In October 1991 he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 325th Regiment in Vicenza Italy until June 1994 After leaving Italy Mixon moved to the staff of the 101st Airborne Division He assumed command of the Division s 1st Brigade 327th Infantry Regiment from October 1996 to August 1998 before returning to a staff position from August 1998 to June 1999 Mixon left the 101st to serve as the director of joint training and exercises for the United States Joint Forces Command from June 1999 to July 2001 and from July 2001 to June 2002 as the assistant division commander operations for the 82nd Airborne Division Mixon was then promoted to chief of staff XVIII Airborne Corps in Fort Bragg from July 2002 until June 2003 During that time he deployed to Baghram Air Base in Afghanistan where he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom as the director of the staff of the Combined Joint Task Force 180 Upon returning he served as the director of operations J3 United States Southern Command In July 2005 Mixon took command of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks until January 2008 While commanding the 25th Mixon deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and commanded both Task Force Lightning and Multi National Division North in Iraq During this time that Mixon oversaw heavy fighting in the Diyala province 3 It was during his time as commander of all coalition forces in northern Iraq that Mixon became an early and public proponent of the surge strategy in Iraq 4 5 Upon relinquishing command of the 25th Infantry Division in February 2008 Mixon assumed command of United States Army Pacific He retired from Army on May 1 2011 after 36 years of service Don t Ask Don t Tell editOn March 8 2010 Lt Gen Mixon wrote a letter to the editor of Stars and Stripes outlining his opposition to a proposed repeal of the Pentagon s Don t ask don t tell policy 6 In the letter Mixon challenged the notion that the majority of service members support a change in the policy and advocated both service members and their families to speak out in opposition to any change Both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen publicly rebuked Mixon saying that because of Mixon s status as an active military general such a public statement was inappropriate Although some recommended it who he was never formally reprimanded for his actions On March 31 2010 Army Secretary John McHugh said We consider the matter closed as of today and went on to say that Mixon would not be reprimanded or asked to resign because of the comments 7 Awards and decorations edit nbsp Combat Action Badge nbsp Ranger tab nbsp Master Parachutist Badge nbsp Pathfinder Badge nbsp Air Assault Badge nbsp British Army Parachutist Badge nbsp 25th Infantry Division Combat Service Identification Badge nbsp 327th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia nbsp 5 Overseas Service Bars nbsp Army Distinguished Service Medal nbsp nbsp nbsp Defense Superior Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters nbsp Bronze Star nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters nbsp Joint Service Commendation Medal nbsp nbsp nbsp Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters nbsp nbsp Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster nbsp Joint Meritorious Unit Award nbsp Army Meritorious Unit Commendation nbsp nbsp National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star nbsp nbsp Southwest Asia Service Medal with one service star nbsp Afghanistan Campaign Medal nbsp Iraq Campaign Medal nbsp Global War on Terrorism Service Medal nbsp Army Service Ribbon nbsp nbsp Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4 nbsp Kuwait Liberation Medal Saudi Arabia nbsp Kuwait Liberation Medal Kuwait References edit Search Response www publicbackgroundchecks com S Smithson Retired general warns of rush to end don t ask The Washington Times Mohammed Tawfeeq U S general wants more troops for bloody Iraq province CNN Surge essential to security in Iraq general says CNN July 6 2007 Blake Hall October 24 2009 A Gathering Storm Forbes Benjamin R Mixon Letter to the editor Stars and Stripes No penalty for general on don t ask Politico External links edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benjamin R Mixon Official US Army Pacific BioMilitary officesPreceded byLTG John M Brown III Commander of the United States Army Pacific2008 2010 Succeeded byLTG Francis J Wiercinski Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benjamin R Mixon amp oldid 1218242873, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
