Lieutenant General Wissler is currently serving as Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington DC.
Lieutenant General Wissler was born at Camp Pendleton, California and raised across the country, settling in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He graduated with honors from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on 7 June 1978.
Lieutenant General Wissler’s command assignments began with service commanding landing support (shore party) and combat engineer platoons, completing two 31st Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. He deployed with MAU Service Support Group (MSSG) 31 with the MSSG Landing Support Platoon supporting OPERATION EAGLE CLAW in the Persian Gulf, and next commanded the Battalion Landing Team 3/3 Combat Engineer platoon. Lieutenant General Wissler also served as the Executive Officer, Engineer Company, Brigade Service Support Group, 1st Marine Brigade. His next command assignments occurred in 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, where he served as Commanding Officer for Headquarters and Service Company, “B” Company, and Engineer Support Company; deploying to Honduras with “B” Company and 2d Battalion 5th Marines as part of the I MEF Air Contingency Battalion. Field Grade command assignments began with service as the Executive Officer, Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Wing Support Group (MWSG) -17, 1st MAW, Okinawa, Japan; and continued with his assignment as Commanding Officer, 2d Combat Engineer Battalion, 2d Marine Division. Lieutenant General Wissler commanded twice as a Colonel, commanding 2d Transportation Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group (FSSG), which served as the nucleus of Task Force Pegasus, providing operational and tactical level battlefield distribution capabilities in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom during the liberation of Iraq; and as Commander, 2d FSSG Forward, II MEF Forward (MNF-W) for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 04-06. General Officer command assignments have included Commanding General, 2d FSSG (Fwd) and 2d Marine Logistics Group, II MEF; Deputy Commanding General, MNF-W during OIF 09; Deputy Commanding General, II MEF; and Commanding General, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
Lieutenant General Wissler’s staff assignments include Facilities Maintenance Officer for Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego; Battalion Operations Officer, 1st Combat Engineer Bn; Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Amphibious Plans Study Group in support of Operation Desert Storm; Marine Corps Aide to the President from July 1991 to August 1993 serving Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Operations Officer and Executive Officer for MWSG-17, 1st MAW; Division Engineer, 2d Marine Division, II MEF; Deputy Director and Director, Strategic Initiatives Group, Plans, Policies & Operations Department, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps where he headed the War Room for General James L. Jones, 32d Commandant of the Marine Corps; Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, 2d FSSG; and Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense (The Honorable Gordon England). While serving the Deputy Secretary of Defense, at the request of the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Wissler deployed to Iraq for two months in support of the Joint Forces Command Enabling Force Study that preceded "The Surge."
Lieutenant General Wissler has completed the Amphibious Warfare School non-resident program while in the Special Education Program; graduated with honors and was identified as a Distinguished Graduate at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), receiving a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and being awarded the AFIT Commandant's award for exceptional thesis research; is a distinguished graduate from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College Resident Program; completed the Armed Forces Staff College (now Joint Forces Staff College) at Norfolk, Virginia; and served as a Commandant of the Marine Corps and Federal Executive Fellow at The Brookings Institution in the Foreign Policy Studies Branch.