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 Arnold Fields
The Inspector General
Office of the Special Inspector General For Afghanistan Reconstruction
Major General Fields (ret) is the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),
a position to which appointed by The President of the United States on 12 June 2008. He was sworn in
to the office on 22 July 2008 by the Deputy Secretary of Defense and in general, reports directly to
the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. His mandate requires that he report directly to
Congress on audits investigations and other matters relating to amounts appropriated or otherwise made
available for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. He had previously served as Deputy Director of the
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Department of Defense, a position to which appointed on 29 January
2007. Prior to this position, he served as a member of the U.S. Department of State assigned to the
U.S. Embassy in Iraq where he performed duties as Chief of Staff of the Iraq Reconstruction and
Management Office (IRMO). He assisted the U.S. Ambassador and Director of IRMO in coordinating the
execution of over $18 billion dollars of U.S. appropriated funds for the reconstruction of Iraq.
General Fields served in this capacity from August 2004 until October 2005.
He retired from the United States Marine Corps in January, 2004 after over 34 years of active military
service. At the time of his retirement, General Fields was serving as the Deputy Commander of Marine
Corps Forces in Europe headquartered at Stuttgart Germany, in support of the Commander, U.S. European
Command and U.S. strategic interests in Europe and Africa. Previous assignments included Director of
the Marine Corps Staff at Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, D.C. where he assisted the Commandant
of the Marine Corps in providing executive oversight of a defense force of over 250,000 personnel
including active duty, reservist, and civilians; Commanding General of Marine Corps Base Hawaii;
Commander U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters, with dual responsibilities as the Inspector
General of U.S. Central Command which at that time was responsible for U.S. defense and security
interests in much of Africa and all of the Middle East and Southwest Asia; Chief of the Evaluation
and Analysis Division of the Plans and Interoperability Directorate (J-7) of the Joint Staff at the
Pentagon. He commanded a training base at Camp Fuji Japan, working closely with the government of Japan
in support of U.S. strategic interests and common security needs and objectives. During Operation Desert
Shield and Desert Storm, General Fields commanded a Marine infantry battalion in operations against the
Iraqi Armed Forces. During 1986-1988 he commanded a major unit of the Marine Embassy Security Guard
battalion which was responsible for security at all U.S. diplomatic posts in North Africa, the Middle
East and Southwest Asia.
His personal decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal with
one bronze oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award; Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”; Meritorious
Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; and the
Combat Action Ribbon. He was awarded the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award for his service
with the State Department in Baghdad, Iraq. General Fields enlisted into the Marine Corps in April of
1969 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in November of that year. He holds a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Agriculture from South Carolina State University and a Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources
Management from Pepperdine University. General Fields is also a graduate of the Army War College; the
Marine Corps Command and Staff College; and the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School. In August 2007,
the Secretary of the Navy appointed General Fields to a four-year term as member of the Board of Visitors,
Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia.
EEO statement available here
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