by Julie Lineback
Colonel J. Dale Alford ’87 has been nominated by President Barack Obama for promotion to the rank of brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps. He is currently the branch head of current and future operations for Plans, Policies and Operations Division at the Marine Corps Headquarters.
He is one of 10 Marine colonels selected for promotion. The U.S. Senate must confirm all the nominations before the promotions are finalized.
Col. Alford, a member of the Alpha Zeta chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity at then-West Georgia College, enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1985 as a sophomore and attended bootcamp with several fraternity brothers. While he admits he wasn’t a stellar student in the beginning, upon his return he improved his grades and graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree in December 1987. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant and began active duty in June 1988.
Col. Alford, who speaks at Chi Phi events annually and received the achievement award for UWG’s College of Science and Mathematics in 2009, never forgets where it all started.
“I wouldn’t have been a Marine if it wasn’t for West Georgia and the Chi Phi fraternity,” he says.
Throughout the span of almost three decades, Col. Alford commanded as a lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel and colonel. He has served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
His personal decorations include Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat V (with two gold stars), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (with two gold stars), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with gold star), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon (with three gold stars). In 1997, he was the recipient of the Leftwich Trophy, which is one of the highest honors a person can receive as a company commander.
