James Michael Lowe

Colonel James “Mike” Lowe was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in May 1976.  An infantry officer, he served in all four Marine Corps divisions and made eight Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Deployments, including one that took him to Beirut, Lebanon as part of the Multi-national Peace Keeping Force.  Then Captain Lowe commanded Company E, 2^nd Battalion, 6^th Marine Regiment.

There is nothing simple or easy about being a Marine —and this is doubly true about service as a Marine Corps officer. Colonel Lowe was a graduate of the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, the Army Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the Marine Corps War College. After his graduation from the Marine Corps War College in 1996, he was assigned to the faculty of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College where he served as the Director of Warfighting.

Throughout his distinguished career, Colonel Lowe served as a Series Commander at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, a company commander in the 6^th Marines, at the Officer Assignment Branch at Headquarters Marine Corps, on the staff of the Special Operations Command (Europe), as Inspector-Instructor, 2^nd Battalion, 24^th Marines, Commanding Officer, 31^st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), and as Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia.

Colonel Lowe completed his 30-year career at the place where his career began: Quantico, Virginia —the Crossroads of the Corps. Following his career, he joined the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies as a Research Fellow and subsequently, as Senior Research Fellow.  For the past eight years, Colonel Lowe led the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities, an in-house think tank for the Marine Corps.  He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and an active member of his community.

Colonel Lowe passed away on 21 March 2014 at the age of 59. I was not personally acquainted with Colonel Lowe, but I can say this with certainty: he passed away far too young, and this officer was a brother.

Semper Fidelis, Colonel Lowe. Rest in Peace.