Despite only five games as a walk-on for the 1963-64 varsity, James Jones is among Georgetown University's most prominent alumni, but not for basketball.

The son of a Marine colonel, Jones was born in Kansas City, raised in Paris, and finished high school in the Washington suburbs. Jones enrolled in the School of Foreign Service in 1962, playing freshman basketball, one year on the varsity, and two years as a practice player. Though he saw action in only one season, he maintained a close relationship with his teammates of that era, with an education that led him through a remarkable career in military and public service.

Following graduation from Georgetown in 1966, Jones received his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was assigned to Vietnam later that year, where a platoon command began a long career of leadership within the Corps, to include 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Northern Iraq, chief of staff for the joint task force for operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the 2nd Marine Division, and military assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Promoted to general in 1999, he was named the 32nd commandant of the Marine Corps later that year.

In 2003, Gen. Jones assumed U.S. European Command and was named Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the first Marine general ever selected for the post. Upon his retirement from the Corps in 2007, Gen. Jones had served in two wars, and among his commendations included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with four award stars, and the Bronze Star with valor.

Following military service, Jones served as a Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security for the Department of State and the National Security Advisor to President Obama. Upon his retirement from the White House, President Obama remarked that "Jim has always been a steady voice in situation room sessions, daily briefings and with meetings with foreign leaders.

"The American people owe the General a debt for making the nation safer."

Gen. Jones received an honorary degree from Georgetown in 2002. Today, he is the leader of Jones Group International, a private consulting firm specializing in foreign policy and energy security.