Biographies
Lieutenant Colonel
“Johnny” Kieu
Director of JOD Jusmagthai
Lieutenant Colonel “Johnny” Kieu, USMC
Director of the Joint Operations Division (JOD) & Marine Branch, JUSMAGTHAI
LtCol Kieu was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States at the age of 15. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2001 as a tank crewman and later earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Physics from Florida State University, receiving his commission as a Combat Engineer Officer in 2008.
Throughout his distinguished career, LtCol Kieu has completed multiple deployments. He served as a rifleman with the Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade in the Horn of Africa from 2004 to 2005. During Operation Enduring Freedom, he held various leadership roles, including Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion and Combat Logistics Battalion 5 from 2009 to 2011. Following his return from Afghanistan, he was assigned to the USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52) as the Assistant Operations Officer for Combat Logistics Battalion 11 during a deployment to the Western Pacific with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
From 2015 to 2019, LtCol Kieu served with the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan. His roles included Company Commander, Current Operations Officer for Combat Assault Battalion, Logistics Officer for the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, G-3 MEF Engineer/Counter-IED Officer, G-5 Vietnam Desk Officer, and Future Operations Planner for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
His service outside the Operating Forces from 2012 to 2015 included assignments with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Training Command and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, where he served as Camp Commandant for Exercise Support Base Camp Wilson, Officer in Charge of the Exercise Logistics Coordination Center, G-4 Operations Officer, and Company Commander for Headquarters Battalion. From 2020 to 2024, LtCol Kieu served as the Marine Attaché at the United States Embassy in Beijing, China.
In Oct 2024, LtCol Kieu assumed the current position as the Joint Operations Director for the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group Thailand (JUSMAGTHAI).
(Current as of March 2025)
