Jon Hoffman retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2008 after thirty years as an infantry officer and field historian, including seventeen years of active duty.  His active-duty service included command of two infantry companies, completion of three amphibious deployments, three years as a history instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and two years as the deputy director of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division.  In his civilian career, he has been the Deputy Chief Historian for the Secretary of Defense Historical Office, and is presently the Chief Historian for the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

His publications include Once a Legend: ‘Red Mike’ Edson of the Marine Raiders (Presidio Press, 1994), From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War (USMC, 1995), Silk Chutes and Hard Fighting: U.S. Marine Corps Parachute Units in World War II (USMC, 1999), Chesty: The Story of Lt Gen Lewis B. Puller (Random House, 2001), and USMC: A Complete History (HLLA, 2002).  He also co-authored The Panama Canal: An Army’s Enterprise (CMH, 2009) and Forging a Total Force: The Evolution of the Guard and Reserve (OSD, 2018), and was general editor of Tip of the Spear: U.S. Army Small-Unit Action in Iraq (CMH, 2009) and A History of Innovation: U.S. Army Adaptation in War and Peace (CMH, 2009).