CJ Williams

Board of Directors

Colonel C. J. Williams, USMC (Ret.)
Col Williams currently serves as the Director of the South Carolina Veterans Business Outreach Center, headquartered at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. Before retiring from the Marine Corps in November 2021, he served as the Chief of Staff for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the Eastern Recruiting Region at Parris Island, SC. Colonel Williams was born in Port Huron, Michigan and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1991 after graduating from Western Michigan University. Previously, Col Williams served as the Director, College of Enlisted Military Education for the Marine Corps University in Quantico, VA. Prior to that he commanded the School of Infantry West, Training Command, Camp Pendleton, CA. His previous command tours include Inspector-Instructor for 3d Battalion, 24 th Marines in St. Louis, MO and platoon and company command tours in 1 st and 2d Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, Camp Lejeune, NC. His combat tours include assistant operations officer for the 26 th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) where he participated with Task Force 58 in the first ground actions of the Global War on Terror in Kandahar, Afghanistan; Operation Iraqi Freedom while assigned to the Tactical Training Exercise Control Group in 29 Palms, CA; and, as a lieutenant platoon commander in Battalion Landing Team 1/2, he participated in Operations Restore Hope and Continue Hope in Mogadishu and Kismayo, Somalia. Colonel Williams’ staff tours include: Director of Current Operations (J33) for United States Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany; Head, Manpower Management Officer Assignments (MMOA), Ground Officer Assignments section and the Ground Lieutenant Colonel Assignment Monitor, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; Operations Officer, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group, Marine Air-Ground Task Force
Training Command, 29 Palms, CA; Operations Officer, School of Infantry East, Camp Lejeune, NC; and, Assistant Operations Officer and Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command at Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps in Washington D.C. He attended the Army Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Army Airborne Course, Infantry Officers’ Advance Course, Amphibious Warfare School, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and top-level school at the College of Naval Warfare, Newport RI. Colonel Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a Masters in National Security Studies.

His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, The Legion of Merit with two gold stars, the Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, the Navy Commendation Medal with one gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon.