Maj. Gen. Justin M. Swanson serves as the commander of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command based in Belle Chasse, Louisiana on Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. He most recently served as the commanding general of the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He began his career as an enlisted Soldier serving more than five years as a combat medic in the Louisiana National Guard. He received his commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate through the Reserve Officer Training Corps from Louisiana State University in May 1993 and attended the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the following September.
Maj. Gen. Swanson had various leadership assignments including fire direction officer, fire support officer, platoon leader, battery executive officer and primary battalion logistics officer in the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He commanded Alpha Battery 3-27 Field Artillery under the XVII Airborne Corps Artillery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He later served as logistical plans officer in the 9th Theater Support Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; plans officer in the Joint IED Task Force in the Pentagon; battalion operations officer in the 359th Transportation Battalion (Terminal) at Fort Eustis, Virginia; and logistics team chief on the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command at Joint Forces Command, Suffolk Virginia. He eventually returned to command to lead the 10th Battalion, 80th Regiment (OES) in Owings Mills, Maryland, from May 2011 to May 2013. He also served as the global force manager in Headquarters, Department of the Army Operations, Plans and Training (G-3/5/7) in the Pentagon; deputy division chief in U.S. Forces Command’s G33 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He also commanded the 518th Sustainment Brigade, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Knightdale, North Carolina, from March 2015 to May 2017. During this command, he deployed his brigade headquarters to Afghanistan to support US Forces Afghanistan as the Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade commander from January 2016 through September 2016.
His military education includes completion of the Combat Medic School, Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, USMC Amphibious Warfare Course, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Intermediate Level Education, and USMC MAGTF Logistics Course. He is a graduate of the Advanced Joint Professional Military Education Course at the Joint Forces Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Louisiana State University. He also holds a Master of Administration in Hospital Administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with bronze oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star, four Meritorious Service Medals, six Joint Service Commendation Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, eight Army Achievement Medals, seven Army Reserve Components Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the NATO Medal with bronze star, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Expert Field Medical Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, and the Army Parachutist Badge. He is also a recipient of the Field Artillery Order of Saint Barbara and Transportation Order of Saint Christopher.
Maj. Gen. Swanson is a former criminal investigator with the United States Marshal Service in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is married with two daughters.