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Commandant of the Marine Corps CMC
Flag of the Commandant of the Marine Corps
Incumbent General Robert Neller since 24 September 2015
Department of the Navy
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff
Reports to	Secretary of Defense Secretary of the Navy
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	4 years Renewable once (In time of war or during a national emergency declared by Congress)
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 5043
Formation	28 November 1775de facto, 12 July 1798de jure
First holder	Samuel Nicholas
Deputy	Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
Website	Official website

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 official residence of the Commandant has been located in the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C. and his main offices are in Arlington County, Virginia.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Commandant are outlined in Title 10, Section 5043, the United States Code^[3] 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."^[3]

List of commandants

Thirty-seven^[5] men have served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps. 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 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]

#	Picture	Name	Rank	Start of tenure	End of tenure	Notes
1		NicholasSamuel Nicholas	O-04 Major	28 November 1775	27 August 1783	The first de facto Commandant for his role as the senior-most officer of the Continental Marines.[7]
2		BurrowsWilliam W. Burrows	O-05 Lieutenant colonel	12 July 1798	6 March 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	7 March 1804	1 September 1818	The first Commandant to be court-martialed (acquitted) and the first to occupy the Commandant's House at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.
3.5		Henderson1Archibald Henderson (acting)	O-05 Major	September 16, 1818	2 March 1819	Acting Commandant, would later serve as Commandant from 1820 to 1859
4	—	GaleAnthony Gale	O-05 Lieutenant Colonel	3 March 1819	8 October 1820	The second Commandant to be court-martialed and the only Commandant to be fired. Burial location is unknown and no photos have ever been located.
5		Henderson2Archibald Henderson	O-07 Brevet Brigadier General	17 October 1820	6 January 1859	The longest-serving Commandant; known as the "Grand old man of the Marine Corps"; known for his role in expanding the Marine Corps' mission to include expeditionary warfare and rapid deployment[8]
6		HarrisJohn Harris	O-06Colonel	7 January 1859	1 May 1864	Commandant during most of the American Civil War
7		ZeilinJacob Zeilin	O-07Brigadier General	10 June 1864	31 October 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	1 November 1876	29 January 1891	Chose "Semper Fidelis", Latin for "Always Faithful", as the official Marine Corps motto
9		HeywoodCharles Heywood	O-08 Major General	30 June 1891	2 October 1903	Was the first Marine to hold the rank of Major General
10		ElliottGeorge F. Elliott	O-08 Major General	3 October 1903	30 November 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	3 February 1911	24 February 1914	Established the Advanced Base Force, forerunner of today's Fleet Marine Force
12		BarnettGeorge Barnett	O-08 Major General	25 February 1914	30 June 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	1 July 1920	4 March 1929	Started the tradition of the birthday ball with Marine Corps Order 47, still read annually. Commanded a US Army division (the 2nd Infantry Division) in combat during World War I.
14		NevilleWendell C. Neville	O-08 Major General	5 March 1929	8 July 1930	Recipient of the Medal of Honor and Marine Corps Brevet Medal
15		FullerBen H. Fuller	O-08 Major General	9 July 1930	28 February 1934	Consolidated the Fleet Marine Force concept
16		RussellJohn H. Russell Jr.	O-08 Major General	1 March 1934	30 November 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	1 December 1936	31 December 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 Vandegrift	O-09 General	1 January 1944	31 December 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	1 January 1948	31 December 1951	Recipient of the Navy Cross. Commandant during early stage of the Korean War.
20		ShepherdLemuel C. Shepherd Jr.	O-10General	1 January 1952	31 December 1955	Recipient of the Navy Cross and last World War I veteran to be Commandant. First Commandant to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Commandant during the Korean War.
21		PateRandolph M. Pate	O-10General	1 January 1956	31 December 1959	Commandant between U.S. involvement in the Korean War and Vietnam War.
22		ShoupDavid M. Shoup	O-10General	1 January 1960	31 December 1963	Recipient of the Medal of Honor. Opposed U.S. involvement in South Vietnam based on strategy and undue influence of corporations and military officials in foreign policy. Historians consider Shoup's criticisms to be among the most pointed and high-profile leveled by a veteran against the Vietnam War.
23		GreeneWallace M. Greene Jr.	O-10General	1 January 1964	31 December 1967	Oversaw the expansion of the Corps role in the Vietnam War
24		ChapmanLeonard F. Chapman Jr.	O-10General	1 January 1968	31 December 1971	Was the Commandant during the final years of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. During his period in command, the III Marine Amphibious Force withdrew from Vietnam and the strength of the Corps dropped from a peak of 289,000 to 198,000.
25		CushmanRobert E. Cushman Jr.	O-10General	1 January 1972	30 June 1975	Oversaw the withdrawal of the Marines from Vietnam and a decline in the Corps' peacetime strength to 194,000
26		WilsonLouis H. Wilson Jr.	O-10General	1 July 1975	30 June 1979	Recipient of the Medal of Honor for capture of Guam
27		BarrowRobert H. Barrow	O-10General	1 July 1979	30 June 1983	Last World War II veteran to be Commandant. Was the first Commandant to serve 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	1 July 1983	30 June 1987	Commandant when the Marine Barracks bombing occurred in Beirut during the 1982-84 multinational force peacekeeping mission under the Reagan Administration. In 2007, General Kelley published in the Washington Post an opinion piece that had a negative opinion on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques
29		GrayAlfred M. Gray Jr.	O-10General	1 July 1987	30 June 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. As a reminder that the primary role of every Marine is a rifleman, he had his official photograph taken in the Camouflage Utility Uniform, the only Commandant to have done so.
30		MundyCarl E. Mundy Jr.	O-10General	1 July 1991	30 June 1995	After retirement, he served as president and CEO of the United Service Organizations (USO), and was the chairman of the Marine Corps University Foundation.
31		KrulakCharles C. Krulak	O-10General	1 July 1995	30 June 1999	Was the son of Marine Corps Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak. Came up with the concept of the 'Strategic Corporal' and the 'Three Block War'. Introduced The Crucible, a final test of Marine recruits.
32		JonesJames L. Jones	O-10General	1 July 1999	12 January 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	January 13, 2003	13 November 2006	Guided the Corps through the initial years of the Iraq War
34		ConwayJames T. Conway	O-10General	13 November 2006	22 October 2010	Commanded Marines forces in the Iraq War and oversaw expansion of the Corps to 202,000 personnel. First Commandant in nearly 40 years to have not served in the Vietnam War.
35		AmosJames F. Amos	O-10General	22 October 2010	17 October 2014	First naval aviator to serve as Commandant.[9]
36		DunfordJoseph Dunford	O-10General	17 October 2014	24 September 2015	First Commandant and second Marine to be promoted to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
37		NellerRobert B. Neller	O-10General	24 September 2015	Incumbent

Timeline

See also

• Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps


• Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps


• Sergeant Major 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, eds. (2004). Commandants of the Marine Corps. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-012-9.CS1 maint: Uses editors parameter (link)
  


• 
  Ulbrich, David J. (2011). Preparing for Victory: Thomas Holcomb and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps, 1936-183. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781591149033.
  

External links

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

• Official website