John Ironwood
John Ironwood | |
|---|---|
 General Ironwood in general duty uniform following his promotion to General, 2022. | |
| Born | 12 July 1971 Tullamarina, Smith Island Territory, Meridon |
| Allegiance |  Meridon |
| Service/ |  Meridonian Army |
| Years of service | 1993 - Present |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands held | 26 Regiment Galleston Mechanized 16 Division Infantry II Corps |
| Battles/wars | Maltikan Conflict Cerdanian Emergency War in New England |
| Awards | see below |
John Ironwood (born 12 July 1971) is a Meridonian Army general who currently serves as the head of Combined Task Force Oak Hand, in his capacity as Commander, Land Operations, Joint Forces Command.
Early Life
Ironwood was born on 12 July 1971 in Tullamarina, Smith Island Territory. He is of Irish and English descent. His father, Mason, served in the Meridonian Army from 1957 to 1969, achieving the rank of Sergeant and seeing multiple combat deployments as an artilleryman before retiring. After his service, Mason worked as a salesman, truck driver, and finally as a shipyard worker and later site manager at Algiers Shipwrights (later Algiers Maritime Engineering). His mother, Josephine (née Russet) served briefly as a naval logistics officer in Alexandria and worked as a schoolteacher afterwards.
Ironwood was educated in a series of Catholic private and charter schools in Smith Island Territory, where he took up football, wrestling and found a love for outdoorsmanship. At the age of eight he joined with a Tullamarina Scouts troop, an organization which he remained in until the age of seventeen upon becoming a Wedgetail. Ironwood attributes much of his success due to the time he spent in Scouts and remains a strong advocate for the organization.
Ironwood attended Saint Jeanne Military Academy, a preparatory boarding school, for secondary education- a highly competitive school, from which graduation virtually guarantees entry into one of the federal service academies. Ironwood excelled in this school, serving as Cadet Commanding Officer and graduating as salutatorian in 1989. He was accepted to the Federal Military Academy in Newcastle and attended in 1989.
Military Career
Ironwood was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1993 and was posted as a staff officer in A Company, 8 Batallion Ranger, 41 Regiment Rangers, where he served until 1998 in roles including a platoon commander, company executive officer, and company officer commanding. He was promoted to Major in 1999, when he participated in the Maltikan Conflict as a battalion staff and planning officer. Ironwood was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2000 following action in Maltika and received a battlefield promotion to Colonel the same year