Commandant of the Marine Corps

Commandant of the Marine Corps
Incumbent: Gen James T. Conway since: November 14, 2006
First	Samuel Nicholas
Formation	November 28, 1775de facto, July 12, 1798de jure

The Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[1] The CMC reports directly to the United States Secretary of the Navy and is responsible for ensuring the organization, policy, plans, and programs for the Marine Corps as well as advising the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council,^[1] the Homeland Security Council,^[1] and the Secretary of the Navy on matters involving the Marine Corps. Under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, the CMC designates Marine personnel and resources to the commanders of Unified Combatant Commands.^[2] The commandant performs all other functions prescribed in Section 5043 in Title 10 of the United States Code^[3] or delegates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in his administration in his name. As with the other joint chiefs, the Commandant is an administrative position and has no operational command authority over United States Marine Corps forces.

The Commandant is nominated by the President for a four-year term of office and must be confirmed by the Senate.^[3] By statute, the Commandant is appointed as a four-star general while serving in office.^[3] "The Commandant is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for the total performance of the Marine Corps. This includes the administration, discipline, internal organization, training, requirements, efficiency, and readiness of the service. The Commandant is also responsible for the operation of the Marine Corps material support system."^[4] Since 1801, the home of the Commandant has been located in the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. and his main offices are in Arlington, Virginia.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Commandant are outlined in Title 10, Section 5043 the United States Code^[3] and is "Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of the Navy". As stated in the U.S. Code, the Commandant shall preside over the Headquarters, Marine Corps, transmit the plans and recommendations of the Headquarters, Marine Corps, to the Secretary and advise the Secretary with regard to such plans and recommendations, after approval of the plans or recommendations of the Headquarters, Marine Corps, by the Secretary, act as the agent of the Secretary in carrying them into effect, exercise supervision, consistent with the authority assigned to commanders of unified or specified combatant commands under chapter 6 of this title, over such of the members and organizations of the Marine Corps and the Navy as the Secretary determines, perform the duties prescribed for him by section 171 of this title and other provisions of law and perform such other military duties, not otherwise assigned by law, as are assigned to him by the President, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of the Navy.^[3]

List of commandants

Thirty-four ^[5] men have served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, including the current Commandant James T. Conway. The first Commandant was Samuel Nicholas, who took office as a captain,^[5] though there was no office titled "Commandant" at the time, and the Second Continental Congress had authorized that the senior-most Marine could take a rank up to Colonel.^[6] The longest-serving was Archibald Henderson, sometimes referred to as the "Grand old man of the Marine Corps" due to his thirty-nine year tenure.^[5] In the 234-year history of the United States Marine Corps, only one Commandant has ever been fired from the job: Anthony Gale, as a result of a court-martial in 1820.^[5]

In June 2010, sitting Assistant Commandant James F. Amos was recommended for nomination by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to succeed Conway as Commandant, while recommending Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. to fill his role as Assistant Commandant.^[7][8] If nominated by President Barack Obama, his move would break the tradition of the Commandant being an infantry officer.^[8][7]

#	Picture	Name	Rank	Start of tenure	End of tenure	Notes
1		NicholasSamuel Nicholas	O-04 Major	01775-11-28 November 28, 1775	01783-08-27 August 27, 1783	The first de facto Commandant for his role as the senior-most officer of the Continental Marines.[9]
2		BurrowsWilliam W. Burrows	O-05 Lieutenant Colonel	01798-07-12 July 12, 1798	01804-03-06 March 6, 1804	The first de jure Commandant, he started many important organizations within the Marine Corps, including the United States Marine Band
3.03		WhartonFranklin Wharton	O-05 Lieutenant Colonel	01804-03-07 March 7, 1804	01818-09-01 September 1, 1818	Was the first Commandant to occupy the Commandant's House at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.
3.5		Henderson1Archibald Henderson (acting)	O-05 Major	01818-09-16 September 16, 1818	01819-03-02 March 2, 1819	Acting Commandant, would later serve as Commandant from 1820 to 1859
4	—	GaleAnthony Gale	O-05 Lieutenant Colonel	01819-03-03 March 3, 1819	01820-10-08 October 8, 1820	The only Commandant to be fired
5		Henderson2Archibald Henderson	O-07 Brevet Brigadier General	01820-10-17 October 17, 1820	01859-01-06 January 6, 1859	The longest-serving Commandant; known as the "Grand old man of the Marine Corps"; known for his role in expanding the Marine Corp's mission to include expeditionary warfare and rapid deployment[10]
6		HarrisJohn Harris	O-06Colonel	01859-01-07 January 7, 1859	01864-05-01 May 1, 1864	Commandant during the start of the American Civil War
7		ZeilinJacob Zeilin	O-07Brigadier General	01864-06-10 June 10, 1864	01876-10-31 October 31, 1876	Became the Marine Corps' first general officer, officially approved of the design of the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor as the emblem of the Marine Corps
8		McCawleyCharles G. McCawley	O-06Colonel	01876-11-01 November 1, 1876	01891-01-29 January 29, 1891	Chose "Semper Fidelis", Latin for "Always Faithful", as the official Marine Corps motto
9		HeywoodCharles Heywood	O-08 Major General	01891-06-30 June 30, 1891	01903-10-02 October 2, 1903	Was the first Marine to hold the rank of Major General
10		ElliottGeorge F. Elliott	O-08 Major General	01903-10-03 October 3, 1903	01910-11-30 November 30, 1910	Successfully resisted attempts to remove seagoing Marines from capital ships and to merge the Corps into the United States Army
11		BiddleWilliam P. Biddle	O-08 Major General	01911-02-03 February 3, 1911	01914-02-24 February 24, 1914	Established the Advanced Base Force, forerunner of today's Fleet Marine Force
12		BarnettGeorge Barnett	O-08 Major General	01914-02-25 February 25, 1914	01920-06-30 June 30, 1920	Served as Commandant during World War I, which caused a huge increase in personnel during his term
13		LejeuneJohn A. Lejeune	O-08 Major General	01920-07-01 July 1, 1920	01929-03-04 March 4, 1929	Started the tradition of the birthday ball with Marine Corps Order 47, still read annually
14		NevilleWendall C. Neville	O-08 Major General	01929-03-05 March 5, 1929	01930-07-08 July 8, 1930	Recipient of the Medal of Honor and Marine Corps Brevet Medal
15		FullerBen H. Fuller	O-08 Major General	01930-07-09 July 9, 1930	01933-02-28 February 28, 1933	Consolidated the Fleet Marine Force concept
16		RussellJohn H. Russell, Jr.	O-08 Major General	01934-03-01 March 1, 1934	01936-11-30 November 30, 1936	The system of seniority promotions of officers was changed to advancement by selection, the 1st Marine Brigade was withdrawn from Haiti, and the number of ships carrying Marine detachments continued to increase.
17		HolcombThomas Holcomb	O-09 Lieutenant General	01936-12-01 December 1, 1936	01943-12-31 December 31, 1943	Expanded the Corps almost 20 times in size for World War II and integrated women into the Corps. The first Marine to be advanced (after retirement) to the rank of General
18		VandegriftAlexander A. Vandegrift	O-09 General	01944-01-01 January 1, 1944	01947-12-31 December 31, 1947	Recipient of the Medal of Honor. Was the first active duty Marine to hold the rank of General, resisted attempts to merge the Corps with the Army
19		CatesClifton B. Cates	O-10General	01948-01-01 January 1, 1948	01951-12-31 December 31, 1951	Recipient of the Navy Cross
20		ShepherdLemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.	O-10General	01952-01-01 January 1, 1952	01955-12-31 December 31, 1955	First Commandant to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff
21		PateRandolph M. Pate	O-10General	01956-01-01 January 1, 1956	01959-12-31 December 31, 1959	—
22		ShoupDavid M. Shoup	O-10General	01960-01-01 January 1, 1960	01963-12-31 December 31, 1963	Recipient of the Medal of Honor
23		GreeneWallace M. Greene, Jr.	O-10General	01964-01-01 January 1, 1964	01967-12-31 December 31, 1967	Oversaw the proliferation of the Corps in the Vietnam War
24		ChapmanLeonard F. Chapman, Jr.	O-10General	01968-01-01 January 1, 1968	01971-12-31 December 31, 1971	Was the Commandant during the Vietnam War
25		CushmanRobert E. Cushman, Jr.	O-10General	01972-01-01 January 1, 1972	01975-06-30 June 30, 1975	Saw the last of the Marines leave Vietnam and the peacetime strength fall to 194,000 while still maintaining readiness
26		WilsonLouis H. Wilson, Jr.	O-10General	01975-07-01 July 1, 1975	01979-06-30 June 30, 1979	Recipient of the Medal of Honor
27		BarrowRobert H. Barrow	O-10General	01979-07-01 July 1, 1979	01983-06-30 June 30, 1983	Was the first Commandant to serve a regular four-year tour as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acquired approval of production of the American-modified Harrier aircraft, and several other improvements to enhance the effectiveness of the Marine Corps
28		KelleyPaul X. Kelley	O-10General	01983-07-01 July 1, 1983	01987-06-30 June 30, 1987	In 2007, in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, General Kelly spoke against President George W. Bush's executive order concerning the interrogation and torture of terrorism suspects.
29		GrayAlfred M. Gray, Jr.	O-10General	01987-07-01 July 1, 1987	01991-06-30 June 30, 1991	The Alfred M. Gray Research Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico houses the Marine Corps Archives and Special Collections, the Quantico Base Library, and the research library for the Marine Corps University.
30		MundyCarl E. Mundy, Jr.	O-10General	01991-07-01 July 1, 1991	01995-06-30 June 30, 1995	Is currently on the board of directors for General Dynamics and is the Chairman of the Marine Corps University foundation
31		KrulakCharles C. Krulak	O-10General	01995-07-01 July 1, 1995	01999-06-30 June 30, 1999	Was the son of Marine Corps Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak
32		JonesJames L. Jones	O-10General	01999-07-01 July 1, 1999	02003-01-12 January 12, 2003	Oversaw the Marine Corps' development of MARPAT camouflage uniforms and the adoption of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program; later became the first Marine officer to serve as Commander, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), then as National Security Advisor for the Obama Administration.
33		HageeMichael W. Hagee	O-10General	02003-01-13 January 13, 2003	02006-11-13 November 13, 2006	Guided the Corps through the initial years of the Iraq War
34		ConwayJames T. Conway	O-10General	02006-11-14 November 14, 2006	Incumbent	The current serving Commandant

Timeline

See also

• Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
• Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps

References

Notes

General

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

• Allan Reed Millett and Jack Shulimson, ed (2004). Commandants of the Marine Corps. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870210129. http://books.google.com/books?id=Qns8bW_SESYC. 

External links

Leadership of the United States Marine Corps Commandants Nicholas · Burrows · Wharton · Gale · Henderson · Harris · Zeilin · McCawley · Heywood · Elliott · Biddle · Barnett · Lejeune · Neville · Fuller · Russell · Holcomb · Vandegrift · Cates · Shepherd · Pate · Shoup · Greene · Chapman · Cushman · Wilson · Barrow · Kelley · Gray · Mundy · Krulak · Jones · Hagee · Conway · Amos Assistant Commandants Cole · Lejeune · Long · Neville · Feland · Williams · Fuller · Myers · Russell · McDougal · Little · H. Smith · Vandegrift · Barrett · Keyser · Schmidt · Rockey · Peck · Turnage · Shepherd · O. Smith · Silverthorn · Thomas · Pate · Megee · McCaul · Munn · Hayes · Mangrum · Chapman · Walt · McCutcheon · R. Davis · Anderson · Jaskilka · Barrow · McLennan · Kelley · J. Davis · Morgan · Went · J. R. Dailey · Boomer · Hearney · Neal · Dake · Williams · Nyland · Magnus · Amos · Dunford Sergeants Major Bestwick · Rauber · McHugh · Sweet · J. W. Daily · Puckett · Black · Massaro · Crawford · Cleary · Sommers · Overstreet · Lee · McMichael · Estrada · Kent Secretary of the Navy (navbox) · Four-star generals · Headquarters Marine Corps · Category

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