The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. It is a four-star general position and a member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the

secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

and is responsible for ensuring the organization, policy, plans, and programs for the Marine Corps as well as advising the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, the

secretary of defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

, the

Homeland Security Council The Homeland Security Council (HSC) is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States tasked with advising the president on matters relevant to Homeland Security. The current homeland security advisor is Stephen Mi ...

, 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. Combatant commands: administration and support The commandant performs all other functions prescribed in Section 8043 in

Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States Armed Forces. It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Each of the fi ...

Commandant of the Marine Corps 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 for appointment by the president, for a four-year term of office, and must be confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The commandant can be reappointed to serve one additional term, but only during times of war or national emergency declared by Congress. By statute, the commandant is appointed as a four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

while serving in office. "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." Since 1806, the official residence of the commandant has been located in the Marine Barracks in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and his main offices are in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. The 39th and current commandant is General

Eric M. Smith Eric M. Smith (born December 8, 1965) is a United States Marine Corps Four-star rank, four-star General (United States), general who has served as the 39th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, commandant of the Marine Corps since 22 Sept ...

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the commandant are outlined in Title 10, Section 5043, the

United States Code The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...

and the position 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".

List of commandants

Thirty-nine men have served as the commandant of the Marine Corps. The first commandant was

Samuel Nicholas Samuel Nicholas (1744 – August 27, 1790) was an American Marine and military officer who was the first officer commissioned in the United States Continental Marines (predecessor to the United States Marine Corps) and by tradition is conside ...

, who took office as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, though there was no office titled "Commandant" at the time, and the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

had authorized that the senior-most Marine could take a rank up to

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. The longest-serving was

Archibald Henderson Archibald Henderson (January 21, 1783 – January 6, 1859) was the longest-serving Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from 1820 to 1859. His name is learned by all recruits at United States Mari ...

, sometimes referred to as the "''Grand old man of the Marine Corps''" due to his 39-year tenure. In the history of the

, only one commandant has ever been fired from the job:

Anthony Gale Anthony Gale was an Irish–American military officer who served as the fourth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps and is known as being the only one ever fired. Fewer records survive concerning him than any other commandant. He is the ...

, as a result of a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

in 1820. , - , style=background:#e6e6aa; align="center" , - , rowspan="2" , Gen Smith Official Photo V1

, data-sort-value="Smith, Eric" style="text-align:center" rowspan="2" , General

, style=background:#e6e6aa; align="center" , 10 July 2023 , style=background:#e6e6aa; align="center" , 22 September 2023 , style=background:#e6e6aa; align="center" , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" , , - , style="text-align:center , 39 , style="text-align:center , 22 September 2023 , style="text-align:center , ''Incumbent'' , style="text-align:center ,

Timeline

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Commandant Of The Marine Corps Joint Chiefs of Staff * United States Marine Corps leadership United States Marine Corps lists

Responsibilities

List of commandants

Timeline

See also

References

Notes

Sources

External links