General John Paterson From Brooklyn New York United State,And former United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.John was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman, and the first Marine officer to be appointed to three different four-star assignments; the others as the 6th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2001, to August 12, 2005, and as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command from September 8, 2000, to September 30, 2001. Appointed by President George W. Bush, John succeeded U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers on September 30, 2005. Gen John is Currently in Afghanistan for peace keeping mission, and this is the last mission before he retired from service.