A graduate of the Marine Corps Academy, he served as a career officer in the Republic Marines. Soon after graduating, he saw limited action during the Great Sith War when Exar Kun's forces raided Coruscant. What he did experience prompted him to help spur on the reorganization of the Marine Corps; with his promotion to commander in 3,985 BBY, he had accrued sufficient clout to begin forming a specialized sub-branch of the Corps, known as Republic Marine Force Reconnaissance, or Force Recon for short.