NORTH CAROLINA

J. scott o'meara

Brig. Gen., Lecturer at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington | Leland, North Carolina

At the start of 2023, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) James S. O’Meara and his wife Angela returned to North Carolina, where they had spent well over a decade during the course of his 39-year Marine Corps career, five postings in total.  The move to the small town of Leland, just outside of Wilmington, was to build a retirement home and follow a dream of O’Meara’s 30 years in the making: teaching younger generations what he learned in the Marine Corps. At the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) he crafted an honors college course entitled Principles of Leadership and has been working to instill in his students the same values, drive, and principles that were ingrained in him through his time in the Marine Corps. 

O’Meara’s drive to educate stems back to his days as a flight instructor, teaching young pilots to fly the T-34C Mentor at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi from 1992-1995. “I worked very hard and made it known I wanted to teach, and by luck a position was available,” said O’Meara. He credits two moments that confirmed his nascent teaching inclinations: when his first student conducted a solo flight, and when they received their wings as a fully instated Marine Corps aviator. To O’Meara, both were a “clarification of the reward of teaching.” 

Born and raised in Dumont, New Jersey, O’Meara enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1979, inspired by family members who had served in WWII and Vietnam. After training as a combat engineer, he pursued higher education at Ramapo College while serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. Commissioned as an officer in 1986, he soon earned his wings as a CH-46 helicopter pilot and deployed during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, supporting combat missions across the Persian Gulf.

O’Meara went on to command helicopter units in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He later oversaw the establishment of the Marine Corps’ first MV-22B Osprey aircraft group, a milestone in modernizing Marine aviation. Promoted to Brigadier General, his assignments included deputy commander of Marine Forces Europe and Africa in Germany, director of Marine Corps Plans and Strategy, and chief of staff for Combined Joint Task Force – Inherent Resolve, where he helped lead coalition operations against ISIS. He concluded his active-duty career as assistant deputy commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations at the Pentagon.

Retiring in 2018 with honors including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star, O’Meara continued his public service in civilian roles. He first joined the Department of Homeland Security’s national operations center before moving into the private sector as a senior associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, consulting on defense initiatives with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of the U.S. Department of State. Currently, he serves as the secretary of the board at the American College of National Security Leaders, of which he has been a member since 2018. 

Following his accomplished career, O’Meara viewed teaching as a way to give back. Along with his Principles of Leadership course, he has also led a class at UNCW (an institution initially founded in 1947 as a school for World War II veterans to utilize their GI Bills) aimed at helping transfer students, adult learners and veterans acclimate to campus life. Additionally, O’Meara serves as a certified volunteer leadership mentor with the Severn Leadership Group. 

As to why leadership was the subject where he chose to focus his teachings: “Leaders are teachers,” said O’Meara. “Our nation depends on leaders of character, and if I can make a positive contribution to our future leaders, all the better.”