The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the Na ...

that perform offensive

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine Forces provide the

National Command Authority National Command Authority may refer to: * National Command Authority (Pakistan) * National Command Authority (United States) National Command Authority (NCA) is a term that was used by the Department of Defense of the United States of America to ...

(NCA) with a responsive force that can conduct operations in any spectrum of conflict around the globe.

Organization

The Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) consists of Marine Corps' operating forces components that constitute the Fleet Marine Forces on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, or within its "designate(s)". While the FMF is a Marine Corps organization, the FMF is a type command under the operational control of Navy fleet commanders; the

Commandant of the Marine Corps 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. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

(CMC) retains administrative and training control. The Commanding General of the Fleet Marine Force; either its Pacific (CG FMFPAC) or Atlantic (CG FMFLANT) command, are responsible for the administration and training of all of the subordinate units of the Marine Corps Forces (MARCORFOR). The subordinate units of the Fleet Marine Forces come under the operational control of the commanders, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (formerly Atlantic Fleet) or United States Pacific Fleet, when deployed. The commanders of Marine Forces Command (MARFORCOM) and Pacific (MARFORPAC) serve as Marine Corps component commanders to their respective combatant commanders and may also serve as commanding generals of Fleet Marine Forces (FMFs) Atlantic, or Pacific. The operating forces of the Marine Corps are currently organized into two Fleet Marine Forces (FMF): *

Fleet Marine Force, Pacific The United States Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPAC) is the largest maritime landing force in the world. Its units are spread across the Pacific Ocean and reports to the United States Pacific Command. It is headquartered at MCB Camp H. M ...

(FMFPAC) with headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii *

Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT) is an American maritime landing force that is spread across the Atlantic Ocean. It is headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk and directs and commands all the subordinate elements of the Navy Expeditiona ...

(FMFLANT) with headquarters in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Each FMF is equivalent to a U.S. Navy type command and reports to its respective Fleet Commander-in-Chief. The commanding general—a lieutenant general—may be either an aviator or a ground officer. His deputy commanding general is from the other community. Marine Corps forces are organized into warfighting units of combined arms known as Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTFs) and are either employed as part of naval expeditionary forces or separately as part of larger joint or combined forces. Each FMF consists of at least one Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) consisting of at least one Marine Division (MARDIV), one Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), one

Marine Logistics Group This is a list of United States Marine Corps logistics groups: See also * List of United States Marine Corps divisions * List of United States Marine Corps aircraft wings This is a list of United States Marine Corps aircraft wings: Active ...

(MLG) (formerly the Force Service Support Group (FSSG)), and an MEF Information Group. Other miscellaneous supporting units may be attached. In addition to one or more MEF(s), each FMF is further organized into one or more intermediate-sized MAGTFs called Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs) and smaller MAGTFs called Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs).

History

Its predecessor was the Advanced Base Force in the early 20th century. The history of the FMF dates to December 7, 1933, when Secretary of the Navy

Claude A. Swanson Claude Augustus Swanson (March 31, 1862July 7, 1939) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Virginia. He served as U.S. Representative (1893-1906), Governor of Virginia (1906-1910), and U.S. Senator from Virginia (1910-1933), befor ...

issued General Order 241 defining the Fleet Marine Force.

, Secretary of the Navybr>The Fleet Marine Force, General Order No. 241
( Norfolk, VA: Dept. of the Navy, December 7, 1933). Momentarily before and during World War II, the Fleet Marine Force had FMF units also in western Pacific assigned to the

United States Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

, establishing the

Fleet Marine Force, Western Pacific Fleet may refer to: Vehicles * Fishing fleet * Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles * Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada *Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Bea ...

(FMFWestPac).

Navy personnel in the Fleet Marine Forces

Fleet Marine Force Enlisted Warfare Specialist Device

For service in the Fleet Marine Force, the United States Department of the Navy issues the FMF Enlisted Warfare Specialist Insignia and the FMF Qualified Officer Insignia (formerly, the

Fleet Marine Force Ribbon The Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, officially the Navy Fleet Marine Force Service Ribbon, was a military award of the United States Navy established in 1984 by Secretary of the Navy, John F. Lehman, Jr. The service ribbon was awarded to eligible Nav ...

was issued). Navy Fleet Marine Force personnel, usually Corpsmen,

Religious Program Specialist Religious program specialist (RP) is a United States Navy rating. Religious program specialists assist naval chaplains in their duties as well as provide support to naval chaplains in developing programs to meet the needs of U.S. Navy sailors, ...

s or Naval Gunfire Liaison Officers who participate in amphibious assaults, are also eligible to receive the FMF Combat Operations Insignia to certain service medals and ribbons. Such Navy personnel are authorized to wear the Marine Corps utility uniform with Navy insignia, and must conform to all physical requirements of the U.S. Marines.

References

External links

* http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1989/SJH.htm * http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1995/MJS.htm {{authority control United States Marine Corps organization Military units and formations of the United States Navy