Paul McQuigg for San Diego Supervisor - District 4

le East. In February 2006 while on his second combat tour as a Staff Sergeant, Paul was seriously wounded by a bomb blast directed at his face while leading his platoon on a mission outside of Haditha, Iraq. In April of 2007, Paul requested to return to duty although not completely healed. Since then, he had the privilege of being involved in many different opportunities and projects for the Marine Corps. One of the most rewarding of these was being able to assist in the activation of the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West at Camp Pendleton California in August 2007. The unit’s mission is to care for and assist wounded, ill and injured Marines and sailors attached to Marine units, throughout their recovery with the goal of transitioning back to duty or out of the military. Paul was promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant in August of 2009 and was temporarily medically retired from the Marine Corps in July of 2013. He was permanently retired by HQMC on 1 January 2017, exactly 32 days short of 20 years of faithful service. Prior to beginning his transition to retirement Paul was serving in the billet of Headquarters Company 1 st Sergeant and selected by the Battalion Commanding Officer and Sergeant Major. Throughout the later part of his career and following retirement Paul has served as a Police & Fire Commissioner for the City of Oceanside, coached youth football, baseball, basketball and soccer, volunteered at his church in Oceanside California, is a proud Knight of Columbus; having served as Grand Knight of his Council 2 consecutive years and earning a triple star and double star award respectively. Also, during this time Paul was the State of California Recruiter of the Year for two consecutive years. He was the Military Liaison on the Board of Directors for a non-profit that connects transitioning service members and veterans with potential employers, collaborated with the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West providing an opportunity for Wounded, Ill and Injured service members, and veterans to travel to Lourdes, France for a pilgrimage to promote peace and spiritual healing. This is made possible by the Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for Military Services and free to our warriors and families. He is a past Board Member of Freedom is Not Free and Iraq Star/DBA RAW, two non-profits that also assist service members and veterans at no cost to them. He served as a Big Brother for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of San Diego through their Operation Bigs Program on Camp Pendleton as well as a spokesperson for the program in the City of San Diego. He is an Ambassador for The Semper Fi/America’s Fund which assists and supports Wounded, Ill and Injured servicemembers and their families from the Vietnam Era until present. As an Ambassador Paul does interviews, podcasts, and other media to raise awareness for The Fund. Paul volunteered with his son’s High School football team as a member of the staff keeping and maintaining statistics and video footage during the 2018 season and again for the 2020/2021 season as the Varsity Team Representative for the Boosters and continued to volunteer with the team during the 2021/2022 season following his son’s graduation. This was done through the challenging times of COVID when the season was put on hold and the Boosters needed to find creative and safe ways to continue to support the football program. He is the former Vice President for his Homeowner’s Association in the City of Oceanside after ending his second tenure after taking a break for a year after 6.5 years of faithful service to the community. Paul is an avid SCUBA diving Instructor, using his Veterans Administration (VA) Vocational Rehabilitation benefits to complete his training, with a primary focus on divers with disabilities, both civilian and veteran. SCUBA diving has been medically proven to improve mental health as well as physical injuries. He is a certified instructor for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Scuba Schools International (SSI) and Disabled Divers International (DDI). In his role as an instructor, he is an informal counselor and mentor to individuals who he works with and can impart his own experiences while improving lives. He is also a valued member of the Folds of Honor Speakers Bureau, representing the nonprofit nationwide in its efforts to raise funds and award scholarships to the families of fallen, wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and first responders. Paul spends his free time with his family and close friends. Paul’s son, Sebastian attended Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, graduating with honors as a 4- year athlete who maintained a 3.5 or higher GPA from 2017 to 2021. Sebastian is attending the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV) as a sophomore in the class of 2025 and studying Film. He has a 4.0 GPA and played football for two seasons. Paul has two rescue dogs which keep him company as well as quite busy. He is currently employed by the US Department of the Census and works with the US Department of Labor.