General Peter Pace was the first U.S. Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He stepped down as Chairman on October 1, 2007.

Pace began service in the Marines in the late '60s, when he fought in the Vietnam War. He became a Captain in 1971, a Major in 1977, and a General in 2000. The following year, Pace became Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2005, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become the Chairman.

Pace stirred controversy when he called homosexuality "immoral" in a newspaper interview. He later acknowledged that, though he was supporting the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of gays in the military, he should have left his personal opinions out of it.

• November 5, 1945: Born in Brooklyn, New York

• 1968: Serves in the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam as a Rifle Platoon leader

• August, 1979: Attends Marine Corps Command and Staff College

• September 30, 2001: Appointed Vice-Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

• September 30, 2005: Replaces Richard Myers as Joint Chiefs Chairman

• November 29, 2005: Publicly disagrees with Donald Rumsfeld on torture issue