Brigadier General Garcia is a native of Texas. He is a Distinguished Naval Graduate from Texas A&M University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and commissioned though the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program in December 1993. He graduated The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia in 1994. Following his initial training as an Artillery Officer, he has held a variety of billets in and out of the operating forces, including assignments at Headquarters Marine Corps and the Joint Staff.
Brigadier General Garcia’s command billets include: Platoon Commander, 1st Battalion 11th Marines and Battery Commander in 1st Battalion 12th Marines. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded 1st Battalion, 11th Marines and deployed them to Afghanistan in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. The battalion was a composite artillery battalion comprised of Cannons, Rockets, and a Target Acquisition Platoon in general support of the 1st Marine Division (FWD) in Helmand Province. His last command tour in the artillery community was as the Commander, 14th Marine Regiment. As a Brigadier General, he served as the Commanding General for MCIEAST-MCB Camp Lejeune.
Brigadier General Garcia’s billets in the operating forces include: Battery Forward Observer, Fire Direction Officer, and Battery Executive Officer within 1st Battalion 11th Marines; Assistant Fire Support Coordinator 3rd Marine Regiment. Other operational billets include Fires and Effects Coordinator, Regimental Combat Team-1 where he deployed to the Al Anbar Province in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM and Division Fire Support Coordinator, deploying to Afghanistan with the First Marine Division (FWD) in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. He also served as the Regimental Logistics Officer, 11th Marine Regiment and served two separate tours at the Command Element, First Marine Expeditionary Force, first serving as the G-3 Fires and Effects Coordinator and later as the Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 Operations.
Brigadier General Garcia’s billets outside the operating forces include: Fire Support Instructor, Fire Support and Combined Arms Operations Department, Fort Sill Oklahoma; two tours at Headquarters Marine Corps at Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA) and at Programs and Resources (P&R). He served on the Joint Staff in the Office of the Chairman as a Principal Deputy Legislative Assistant to the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff working House/Senate Armed Services and Defense Appropriation Committee portfolios. He also served as the Military Secretary (Executive Assistant) to the 38th Commandant of the Marine Corps and as the Director, Marine Corps House of Representative Liaison Office. Brigadier General Garcia assumed the duties of Legislative Assistant to the Commandant in June 2024.
He graduated with honors from Field Artillery Officer Basic Course and Amphibious Warfare School. He served as a Commandant of the Marines Corps National Fellow with Exxon Mobil Corporation and is a graduate of the National War College, Washington DC.
He holds a M.S. degree in Systems Analysis from the Naval Post Graduate School and a M.S. degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.