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  The call came out of the blue. The defense secretary wanted to see Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. that afternoon. Soon afterward, it was the president talking with him about taking command of all U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
  Last week, the Senate confirmed Dunford as the next commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. He is expected to take over in February.
  The four-star general had some experience dealing with Afghanistan but never served there. His job as assistant commandant was running the Marine Corps.
  During his 35 years in the service, Dunford built a reputation as a quick study and steady hand, according to Marines who observed him in combat, during his many years assigned to Camp Pendleton or holding his own in "the tank" with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  Whether it was taking command of an infantry company while he was just a lieutenant, leading the invasion into Iraq when his regiment was summoned on short notice or taking on a three-star job before he had time to pin on his second star, Dunford often was called on to hit above his weight, according to interviews with eight active-duty or retired Marines who have known him for years.
  They said Dunford's humble, hard-working demeanor, keen intellect and almost tribal sense of loyalty and duty are combined with an exacting but caring style of leadership. He is one of the most deeply respected and well-liked leaders in the Corps, with impeccable personal values and a deep understanding of the "joint world" of the armed services, they added.
  Lt. Gen. John Toolan, head of the West Coast Marine force, has known Dunford since they were both infantry platoon commanders at Camp Pendleton in 1979. "There isn't a single person in or out of the Marine Corps that doesn't agree that he is among our best ever," Toolan said.
  Dunford, 56, grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Boston, the son of a Marine veteran of the brutal Chosin Reservoir campaign of the Korean War who later became a cop. After graduating from a Jesuit high school and St. Michael's College in Vermont, Dunford was commissioned as a Marine officer in 1977.
  In the post-Vietnam era, the Corps was often short on qualified officers, equipment and morale. Dunford was a standout, said retired Gen. Joseph Hoar, 77, of Del Mar. Hoar, a former head of U.S. Central Command, attended Boston College High School like Dunford and served as his first battalion commander.
  Before Dunford became a captain, he was put in charge of a company from an infantry unit returning from Okinawa, Japan. Amid heavy personnel turnover, Dunford "worked very hard at it and, in not too long at all, really pulled that company together. He obviously had a great deal of leadership ability and showed that right from the start" through his focus and drive, Hoar recalled.
  Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser was Dunford's roommate in San Clemente when they were both lieutenants and bachelors. In one of many overlapping career moments for them, Waldhauser took command from Dunford in 2010 of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at Camp Pendleton.