Submitted photo .... Steven White, a 1989 graduate of Canfield High School, is shown with his wife, Christy, at his retirement ceremony from the U.S. Marine Corps in December. He was a colonel when he retired. after 30 years.

Steven White wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduating from Canfield High School in 1989.

A telephone call made the decision for him.

“I got a call from a Marine Corps recruiter from Kent State University while I was a senior at Canfield. He offered me a four-year Naval ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarship at Miami (of Ohio) University and told me I would be an officer when I graduated. I agreed and once I joined the Marines, I knew that is where I wanted to be,” White said on a recent phone call from his home in Alexandria, Va.

He double majored in diplomacy / foreign affairs and political science.

White grew up in Canfield, the youngest of four children of Barb and Conner White, who now live in Chagrin Falls. He has an older sister, Jennifer, who is married to David “Chip” Comstock — the chief of the Western Reserve Joint Fire District in Poland — and two older brothers, Clark of Chagrin Falls and Scott of Chicago.

He ran track and played golf and basketball for Canfield schools.

“I wasn’t very good at any of them,” White said with a laugh.

He said he considered joining the military while in high school but wasn’t sure if it was for him.

“I always liked and admired the military. My dad was in the Air Force for two years. So I had thought about joining, but it wasn’t at the top of my mind,” White said.

He ended up spending 30 years in the Marine Corps.

MILITARY CAREER

After graduating cum laude from Miami University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he reported to The Basic School as a member of Delta Company in June 1993.

Upon completion of basic and Infantry Officers Course, Lt. White was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines as a rifle and weapons platoon commander and deployed with the battalion to the Western Pacific as part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. In June 1996, he was transferred to Marine Security Guard Battalion, Company E, in Frankfurt, Germany, where he served as operations officer.

Following attendance at the Amphibious Warfare School in 2000, Capt. White was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He served as a rifle and weapons company commander and deployed to Okinawa, Japan.

In July 2002, Maj. White transferred as the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines inspector-instructor. He deployed in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the battalion’s operations officer. Upon his return, White was transferred to The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, where he served as the operations officer for Instructor Battalion and as a company commander for two student companies.

In June 2008, he attended the School of Advanced Warfighting in Detroit, Michigan. Upon completion of his command in July 2011, Lt. Col. White attended the National War College in Washington, D.C. He was then assigned to the Operations Directorate (J-3) of the Joint Staff for three years.

From July 2015 to June 2017, Col. White served as the current operations officer and the deputy assistant chief staff, G3, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa. He commanded the 23rd Marine Regiment in San Bruno, California, from July 2017 through 2019. He joined Programs and Resources, HQ Marine Corps in August 2019 and completed his career as the Program Development Branch head.

He and his wife, the former Christy Rakow of Annapolis, Maryland, have lived in Alexandria for the past four years because his last tour of duty was at the Pentagon. He now works as a defense consultant. The couple has a son, USMC Capt. Riley White, who is stationed in Quantico. He is married to Annie. They also have a daughter, Brooke, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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