Retired U.S. Marine general joins Boeing board
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N) on Tuesday named retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, the former head of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, to its board.
The appointment is the latest in a line of retired senior armed forces and Pentagon leaders joining defense contractors, underscoring the tight relationship between U.S. arms makers and buyers.
Boeing, which is the No. 2 U.S. defense contractor behind Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT.N), said Jones' appointment was effective immediately.
Jones, 63, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran with a 40-year military career. After leading the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003, he was the supreme allied commander Europe and commander of the United States European Command until 2006. He retired from the Marines last year.
He is now president and chief executive of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Boeing, which last year settled two Department of Justice probes into its procurement practices, and is now facing questions over aircraft emissions, said Jones would be helpful on both military and environmental issues.
Jones "has an in-depth understanding of military and global affairs," Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement. "As a result of the work he is doing for the institute, he also is knowledgeable about the energy and climate-change issues that are so important to the future of all of us."
Jones is the only former military leader on Boeing's board, which now has 11 members.
Boeing's main rivals already have former high-ranking servicemen and Pentagon officials on their board.
In 2006, Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.N) appointed retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, to its board. The U.S. No. 3 defense contractor has had retired U.S. Navy Admiral Charles Larson on its board since 2002.
Lockheed's board boasts former under-secretary of Defense, E.C. "Pete" Aldridge.
