Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Incumbent Sergeant Major Ronald L. Green since Feb 20, 2015
Formation	May 23, 1957
First holder	Wilbur Bestwick
Website	www.HQMC.Marines.mil

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (officially abbreviated to SgtMajMC;^[1] unofficially as SMMC^[2][3]) is a unique non-commissioned rank and billet in the United States Marine Corps.

History

In the U.S. Marine Corps sergeant major is the ninth and highest enlisted rank, just above first sergeant, and equal in grade to master gunnery sergeant, although the two have different responsibilities. Sergeant major is both a rank and a military billet, and serves as the unit commander's senior enlisted advisor and to handle matters of discipline and morale among the enlisted Marines. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is chosen by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to serve as his advisor and is the preeminent and highest ranking enlisted Marine with a protocol equivalency of a lieutenant general.^[4]

Although not officially considered a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, when Archibald Sommers was appointed to the grade of Sergeant Major January 1, 1801, it was a solitary post, similar to the modern billet of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. In 1833, an act of legislation made the rank of sergeant major permanent for the Marine Corps and by 1899 five Marines held the rank of sergeant major. This continued until 1946, when the rank was abolished, only to be re-introduced in 1954 as part of the Marine Corps rank structure.^[5]

The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957 as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps,^[5] the first such post in any of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces.^[6] In 1970, the distinctive rank insignia of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was authorized and features the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor flanked by two stars, as opposed to the standard Sergeant Major rank insignia, which was used for the rank from the post's creation in 1957 to 1970, and has a single five point star in the center. While Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is the full wording of the rank, verbal address for this is commonly Sergeant Major.

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and typically serves a four-year term, though his service is at the discretion of the Commandant.^[6] Since Wilbur Bestwick was appointed the first Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps in 1957, 17 different Marines have filled this post.^[7]

On January 20, 2015, Commandant Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. announced that Sergeant Major Ronald L. Green would relieve Sergeant Major Micheal P. Barrett and serve as the 18th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on February 20, 2015.^[8]

Insignia

• SgtMajMC insignia timeline
• 

  1957-1970, became Sergeant Major

• 

  1970–present

Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps

#	Picture	Name	Tenure from	Tenure to
1		Bestwick Wilbur Bestwick[9]	01957-05-23-0000May 23, 1957	01959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959
2		Rauber Francis D. Rauber[10]	01959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959	01962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962
3		McHugh Thomas J. McHugh[11]	01962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962	01965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965
4		Sweet Herbert J. Sweet[12]	01965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965	01969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969
5		Dailey Joseph W. Dailey[13]	01969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969	01973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973
6		Puckett Clinton A. Puckett[14]	01973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973	01975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975
7		Black Henry H. Black[15]	01975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975	01977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977
8		Massaro John R. Massaro[16]	01977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977	01979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979
9		Crawford Leland D. Crawford[17]	01979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979	01983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983
10		Cleary Robert E. Cleary[18]	01983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983	01987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987
11		Sommers David W. Sommers[19]	01987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987	01991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991
12		Overstreet Harold G. Overstreet[20]	01991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991	01995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995
13		Lee Lewis G. Lee[21]	01995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995	01999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999
14		McMichael Alford L. McMichael[22]	01999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999	02003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003
15		Estrada John L. Estrada[23]	02003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003	02007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007
16		Kent Carlton W. Kent[24]	02007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007	02011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011
17		Barrett Micheal P. Barrett[25]	02011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011	02015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015
18		Green Ronald L. Green[26]	02015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015	Incumbent

Timeline

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sergeants Major of the United States Marine Corps.

• Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Sergeant Major of the Army
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
• Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
• Senior Enlisted Advisor for the National Guard Bureau

References

General

• "The Official Web Site of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2014-07-19. 

Specific

United States Marine Corps Leadership Secretary of the Navy Under Secretary of the Navy Commandant of the Marine Corps Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Marine Corps generals United States Congress House Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Senate Subcommittee on Seapower Major commands Organization of the Marine Corps Headquarters Marine Corps Marine Forces Command II Marine Expeditionary Force Marine Forces Pacific I Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force Marine Forces Reserve Fleet Marine Force Atlantic Pacific Structure Marine Air-Ground Task Force Bases Battalions Regiments Brigades Divisions MEF/Corps Marine aviation Marine expeditionary unit Special Operations Special Operations Regiment Recon Force Division Personnel and training Personnel Rank insignia MOS Notable Marines Historical Marines Criminal Investigation Division Judge Advocate Division Chaplain of the Marine Corps Hispanic Marines Associated organizations Training Recruit Training School of Infantry Officer Candidates School The Basic School Martial Arts Program Uniforms and equipment Uniforms Awards Badges Weapons Vehicles and aircraft Individual equipment History and traditions History Culture Acronyms and terms Birthday Ball Eagle, Globe, and Anchor Marine Band Drum and Bugle Corps Service Numbers Marine Corps War Memorial Flag Marine One Marines' Hymn National Museum Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima Rifleman's Creed Semper Fidelis Silent Drill Platoon History of Hispanics in the USMC Toys for Tots Portal:United States Marine Corps Category:United States Marine Corps

United States enlisted ranks
Pay grade → Branch of service ↓	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
Air Force	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt - 1st Sgt	SMSgt - 1st Sgt	CMSgt - 1st Sgt - CCM - CMSAF
Army	PVT	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1stSgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj - SgtMajMarCor
Navy	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMDCM - FORCM, FLTCM - MCPON
Coast Guard	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMC - Area CMC, CGRF-MC - MCPOCG

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 Dunford 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 Paxton Sergeants Major Bestwick Rauber McHugh Sweet J. W. Daily Puckett Black Massaro Crawford Cleary Sommers Overstreet Lee McMichael Estrada Kent Barrett Green Secretary of the Navy (navbox) Four-star generals Headquarters Marine Corps Category