{{Short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Orson G. Swindle III | image = Orson Swindle.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1937|3|8}} | birth_place = [[Thomasville, Georgia]], U.S. | education = | alma_mater = [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] (BS)<br/>[[Florida State University]] (MBA) | occupation = [[Federal Trade Commission]] | office = Commissioner of the [[Federal Trade Commission]] | president = [[Bill Clinton]]<br/>[[George W. Bush]] | term = December 18, 1997 – June 30, 2005 | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = Angie | children = | parents = | allegiance = United States | branch = [[United States Marine Corps]] | service_years = 1959–1979 | rank = [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] | unit = | commands = | battles = [[Vietnam War]] | mawards = [[Silver Star]] (2)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal]] (2)<br/>[[Purple Heart]] (2) }} '''Orson G. Swindle III''' (born March 8, 1937) is a retired [[United States Marine Corps]] officer, a decorated [[Vietnam War]] [[prisoner of war]], and a former Commissioner of the [[Federal Trade Commission]] of the United States, serving from December 18, 1997 to June 30, 2005.<ref>{{cite web | title=Federal Trade Commission – Speeches by Former Commissioners | url=http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/former.shtm | accessdate=2009-05-12 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511213613/http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/former.shtm | archivedate=2009-05-11 }}</ref> He had previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce during the [[Reagan Administration]].
Swindle previously served as State Director for the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]. In 1994 and in 1996 he was a Republican candidate for Congress in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District. In 1996 he held the incumbent, Democrat [[Neil Abercrombie]], to 50% of the vote. Swindle served over twenty years as a [[Naval Aviator]] in the Marine Corps, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
==Education== Swindle received his [[bachelor's degree]] in [[Industrial Management]] from [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] in 1959 and a [[Master of Business Administration]] degree from [[Florida State University]] in 1975.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}
==Marine Corps career== After graduating from Georgia Tech, Swindle reported to [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] for [[The Basic School]]. He then reported to [[NAS Pensacola]], Florida for initial flight training followed by follow-on training at other [[naval air station]]s. After earning his wings in May 1964, he was stationed at [[MCAS Beaufort]], South Carolina. On February 1, 1966, he deployed with [[VMFA-235|VMF(AW)-235]] ("The Death Angels") to [[Da Nang International Airport|DaNang Air Base]] and flew more than 200 sorties in the [[F-8 Crusader|Vought F-8E Crusader]] during the [[Vietnam War]].
On November 11, 1966, Captain Swindle's Crusader was shot down while on a mission over the [[Quảng Bình Province]], North Vietnam. It was his last scheduled flight. Captured by the North Vietnamese near the city of Vinh Linh, Capt Swindle spent the next seven years being shuffled around various prison camps, including the notorious [[Hanoi Hilton]] complex. While in captivity, he shared a cell with future senator and presidential candidate, then-Lieutenant Commander (later Captain) [[John McCain]].
Promoted to the rank of major while in captivity, Swindle was released on March 4, 1973. Restored to flying status, he then flew the [[A-4 Skyhawk|A-4M Skyhawk II]] and [[A-4 Skyhawk|TA-4F Skyhawk II]] at [[MCAS Cherry Point]], North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=137|title=Veteran Tributes}}</ref> He subsequently attended [[Florida State University]] under a Marine Corps-funded postgraduate program, earning a Master of Business Administration degree in 1975. He then returned to the Fleet Marine Force. His 20 military decorations for valor in combat include two [[Silver Star]]s, the [[Legion of Merit]] with [[Combat "V"]], two [[Bronze Star Medal]]s with [[Combat "V"]], two [[Purple Heart]]s, two personal and eleven Strike/Flight awards of the [[Air Medal]], the [[Commendation Medal|Navy Commendation Medal]] with Combat "V", the [[Combat Action Ribbon]], the [[Prisoner of War Medal]] and numerous other unit, campaign and service awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=23938|title = Orson Swindle – Recipient -}}</ref> His non-combat decorations include a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit and the [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]].
Swindle retired from the Marine Corps in 1979 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
==Politics and professional relationships== Swindle served as executive director of [[United We Stand America]] and spokesman for [[Ross Perot]]'s 1992 presidential campaign.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DC1030F932A25753C1A964958260 The 1992 Campaign] The New York Times, October 11, 1992</ref>
From late 2005 until August 2009, Swindle served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the law firm of [[Hunton & Williams LLP]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hunton.com/bios/bio.aspx?id=16727 |title=Hunton & Williams, Orson Swindle Bio |access-date=2008-06-15 |archive-date=2008-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603090759/http://www.hunton.com/bios/bio.aspx?id=16727 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His specific charge was within the firm's Center for Information Policy Leadership, which was founded to "develop innovative, pragmatic approaches to privacy and information security issues from a business-process perspective while respecting the privacy interests of individuals." The center has approximately 40 corporate members including American Express, Eli Lilly, GE, Microsoft, IBM, [[Procter & Gamble]], and Wal-Mart.
Swindle previously served on the board of [[Citizens Against Government Waste]]<ref name="cagw">{{cite web |url=http://www.cagw.org/about-us/staff/ |title=Staff |publisher=Citizens Against Government Waste |accessdate=September 2, 2012}}</ref> (CAGW), an independent political advocacy group that seeks to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government.
On September 2, 2008, he gave the opening speech on the second day of the [[2008 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], during which he introduced veterans and fellow prisoners of war in the crowd. He also introduced President [[George H. W. Bush]], who ran against Swindle's candidate Perot in the [[1992 United States presidential election|1992 presidential election]].<ref>FoxNews Convention Coverage, ''[[Hannity & Colmes]]'', 2 SEP 2008</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Biography|Georgia (U.S. state)}} * [[Federal Trade Commission#List of former commissioners|List of former FTC commissioners]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.techlawjournal.com/people/swindle.htm Swindle's Profile] * [http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/swindle.shtm Speeches by Commissioner Swindle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128033738/http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/swindle.shtm |date=2007-11-28 }} * [http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/s/s126.htm Additional info on Swindle] * [http://www.hunton.com/files/tbl_s10News/FileUpload44/12203/SwindleNewsRelease.pdf Swindle background] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109025508/http://www.hunton.com/files/tbl_s10News/FileUpload44/12203/SwindleNewsRelease.pdf |date=2006-11-09 }} * [http://feeds.radioamerica.org/rd-bin/rdfeed.mp3?Veterans&cast_id=8546 Swindle speaks about his time as a POW]{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{C-SPAN|25540}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swindle, Orson}} [[Category:1937 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Thomasville, Georgia]] [[Category:Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:People associated with Hunton Andrews Kurth]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War]] [[Category:Federal Trade Commission personnel]] [[Category:Florida State University alumni]] [[Category:Georgia Tech alumni]] [[Category:United States Naval Aviators]] [[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]] [[Category:American prisoners of war in the Vietnam War]] [[Category:Clinton administration personnel]] [[Category:George W. Bush administration personnel]] [[Category:Shot-down aviators]]