Names in this list are notable for actions made as a Marine; individuals whose notability is unrelated to service in uniform can be found at List of United States Marines. U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. your data under the CCPA. Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber and Chief Information Officer, For example, the Senate declined to schedule a vote for Major General. View Issue. The Marine Corps makes exceptions to this only-combat-arms rule when it gives four stars to aviators, including James F. Amos, in 2008, and Gary L. Thomas, in 2018. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary This is a list of United States generals. Thats even more true in the Marine Corps, which promotes a smaller percentage of its officers to each of the field grade ranks than its sister services. A third lieutenant general was appointed in January 1947 to command the new Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. of the site will not work as intended if you do so. So, not only has the opportunity for Marines, regardless of color, to make four-star rank been extremely limited but it has been biased toward infantry officers. browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this By the end of the war, the commandant was a full general. Vandegrift was appointed temporary lieutenant general in July 1943,[26] under a 1941 law that anticipated the wartime expansion of the Marine Corps by authorizing an unlimited number of temporary general officers for the duration of the national emergency. The commanders directly advise the defense secretary and the president. remove the photographs of officer candidates. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Still, the Army had a Black one-star general, Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr., in 1940eighty years ago next month. But Colonel Henderson is a Black man with combat command experience in a service the Marines that has never, in its 245-year history, had a four-star officer who was not a white man. Some of the Marines who reported to him called him silverback, a reference that is both complimentary and racist. Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have In The Marine Corps' First Black . By all accounts, Colonel Henderson does not do that. Additionally, events that take place after Senate confirmation may still delay or even prevent the nominee from assuming office. Jason Q. Bohm [19] U.S. Marine Corps. department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Five years later, in 2000, he made major. Repealed authorization for the Chief of Staff to the President, if a general or flag officer of the United States Armed Forces, to be designated a position of importance and responsibility with grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral. 5201, to retire in that grade. Indeed, at the 26-year mark, Henderson is still under the average. Yet three times he has been passed over for brigadier general, a prominent one-star rank that would put Colonel Henderson on the path to the top tier of Marine Corps leadership. Gen. Charles Q. Since the Corps first admitted African-American troops in 1942, the last military service to do so, only 25 have obtained the rank of general in any form. They are capable of You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal After all was said and done, 1,200 Marines went over and 1,198 came back. The Act of Congress of February 23, 1942, enabled tombstone promotions to three- and four-star grades. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your But never in its history has the Marine Corps had anyone other than a white man in its most senior leadership posts. Six African-Americans reached lieutenant general, or three stars. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts Vol. Since the protests, senior Defense Department officials have begun an internal examination into how to increase the percentage of minority service members in its predominantly white officer corps. Thats an acknowledgement thatimplicit bias may well have been present. Authorized officers frocked to grade of lieutenant general or general to wear the insignia of that grade for up to 14 days before assuming position for which that grade is authorized. Director of Missile Defense Agency", "711. Look, Im a dedicated Marine, said Mr. Whitfield, the former gunnery sergeant. There are 14 three-star billets in the United States Marine Corps. [51] All deputy commanders of the unified combatant commands are of three-star rank, as are directors of Defense Agencies not headed by a civilian such as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIRDIA). Lieutenant generals entered the Marine Corps via several paths: 36 via Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at a civilian university, 11 via the United States Naval Academy (USNA), nine via Officer Candidates School (OCS), and eight via NROTC at a senior military college. The best positioned three-star candidate, Merrill B. Twining, was viewed as too political by the secretary of defense, Thomas S. Gates Jr., who passed over all five lieutenant generals to recommend Shoup instead. to learn more. The Office of the Commandant was permanently fixed at the grade of four-star general under authority of the Act of August 7, 1947. And even the one-, two- and three-star Marine Corps officer positions are predominantly white and male particularly the ones in the combat specialties that feed the four-star ranks. To get ahead in the Marines, many Black senior officers have to adjust themselves in a way thats nonthreatening to whites, said Mr. Hobbs, the retired Marine colonel. Retired as general, Jan 1956; recalled as general, Mar 1956. The practice was terminated in an effort to encourage senior officer retirements prior to the effective date of the change to relieve an overstrength in the senior ranks. Scott C. Black Daniel P. Bolger Dana Born William G. Boykin . List of active duty United States four-star . Marine Corps General Officers and Senior Enlisted Leaders. The Assistant Commandant didnt become a four-star officer until Lew Walt assumed the billet in 1968. Gen. Calvert L. Worth is currently an active-duty infantry general, a group from . As a recentRAND report on general and flag officer developmentshows, all the longstanding services (that is, excluding the new Space Force) have a cliff between colonel/captain and brigadier general/rear admiral, with none having a selection rate above 8 or 9 percent. References. Five-Star Generals: The Nine Men Who Earned the US Military's Highest Rank. WASHINGTON The Marine Corps is promoting Col. Anthony Henderson, a combat-tested Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, to brigadier general, a move that cracks the doorway for the . ET. ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy Petersen was promoted to command a fighter squadron, a Marine Aircraft Group, a Marine Aircraft Wing and a major Marine Corps installation. 147/5/1,419. All active-duty ranks above major general were temporary and ex officio, so upon vacating an office carrying three-star rank, an officer reverted to his permanent two-star grade unless he retired. On May 5, 1969, President Richard Nixon signed the bill, and Lieutenant General Lewis William Walt was promoted to that rank on June 2, 1969, thus becoming the first Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps to attain four-star rank. 1979 February 23 First African American Marine Corps General is Frank E. Petersen. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank,[a] active-duty positions held while serving at three-star rank,[b] number of years of active-duty service at three-star rank (Yrs),[c] year commissioned and source of commission,[d] number of years in commission when promoted to three-star rank (YC),[e] and other biographical notes. Hes exactly the kind of warrior-scholar America needs in its senior ranks. Once he was within sight of his first star, Marine officials started saying that Colonel Henderson was difficult to work with. It was defended by about 200 to 400 Taliban members who had been fighting the British in Helmand Province, a new flash point in the war. Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy (J-5). Out of 82 Marine generals overall today, there are six African-American brigadier generals and one African-American major general. Tony Henderson has the potential to be the commandant of the Marine Corps, said retired Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Bailey, the first Black man to command the First Marine Division, from 2011 to 2013. African-American U.S. Marine Corps' General Officers by Herbert Booker. The Marine Corps decision to add Colonel Henderson to its list of brigadier generals followed an examination of his career by The New York Times. browser. The rank of general (or full general, or four-star general) is the highest rank in the Marine Corps. As the commander of the First Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment, Colonel Henderson had to come up with a plan to overrun a Taliban stronghold in the Garmsir District known as Jugroom Fort. Yet Langley, as one of only six Black generals in the Marines, is a . Colonel Henderson moved through the ranks at a lightning pace. Some have attributed this to a tendency to speak his mind, which, while often a hurdle for promotion in a culture that prizes team players, carries some ugly historical baggage when applied to a Black man. Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies, Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the Last year, the Navy secretary, Richard V. Spencer, even added a handwritten recommendation to Colonel Hendersons candidacy: Eminently qualified Marine we need now as BG, he wrote. The Marines first admitted Black troops in 1942, the last military service to do so. Critics of how the Marine Corps has handled its Black officers say the service has a race problem that is rooted in decades of resistance to change. Of the five lieutenant generals who retired at Shoup's accession, at least two, Verne J. McCaul and Robert E. Hogaboom, only did so after he made clear they would not be continued at that rank. Because we do not track you across different devices, John L. Estrada - first Hispanic Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps [7] Annie Neal Graham - first African-American woman Marine [8] John Glenn - first Marine astronaut, first American to orbit the Earth. Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Major General. The following list of Congressional legislation includes all acts of Congress pertaining to appointments to the grade of lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps since 2010.[q]. The report notes that the Corps has seen only 25 Black officers make one-star rank, only six have made three-star, and none has made it to the top four-star rank, an honor the Marines have bestowed on 72 white men. Further, Out of 82 Marine generals overall today, there are six African-American brigadier generals and one African-American major general.. sale of your personal information to third parties. The following is a list of the essential names in U. S. Marine Corps lore the people who make up what the Marines call "Knowledge". Yes, Defense One can email me on behalf of carefully selected companies and organizations. Marines commanded by Colonel Henderson during those fierce days and nights say he stood out like an action figure. He will now be the first four-star. A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a Corporal Sams, on a heavy dose of painkillers, was shocked that his former commander had come to visit. [55] As such, three-star positions can be elevated to four-star status or reduced to two-star status where deemed necessary, either to highlight their increasing importance to the defense apparatus (or lack thereof) or to achieve parity with equivalent commands in other services or regions. But both Black and white Marines who have worked with him say such speculation ignores one fact: Colonel Henderson, who has a law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, La., and who has served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is, in the words of Mr. Spencer, the former Navy secretary, to a 2019 promotion board, an eminently qualified Marine we need now as BG.. The African-American Marines said they were happy for Colonel Williamson, whose background is communications, but added that they were ecstatic for Colonel Henderson because he comes from the combat arms background that can lead to four stars. Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting. It ranks above lieutenant general (three-star general). Smith finally received his third star two years later, after he was too old to be considered for commandant. MAJ. can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. Principal Deputy Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. They recall the time that Colonel Henderson, after losing radio contact, climbed to the top of a local house to look for his Marines, drew fire from the Taliban, and did a combat roll flip off the roof to avoid a rocket-propelled grenade, landing on his feet on the ground. Youre one of my warriors, Colonel Henderson told him, before leaving his hospital room. Lieutenant generals entered the Marine Corps via several paths: 36 via Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at a civilian . This is a list of lieutenant generals in the United States Marine Corps since 2010. As the nation reels this summer from protests challenging centuries-long perceptions of race, the Marines who have long cultivated a reputation as the United States strongest fighting force remain an institution where a handful of white men rule over 185,000 white, African-American, Hispanic and Asian men and women. Generals entered the Marine Corps via several paths: 29 via Officer Candidates School (OCS), 25 via Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at a civilian university, 10 via the United States Naval Academy (USNA), 3 via Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at a civilian university, and 7 via ROTC at a senior military college. We need to recognize that the bread and butter of the Marine Corps is combat arms, said Lt. Gen. David A. Ottignon, the deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs. Enlarge this image. Colonel Henderson, 53, was passed over three times for brigadier general. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Early promotions to these wartime grades therefore rewarded past personal triumphsGuadalcanal for Vandegrift and Tarawa for Smithas much as future organizational efficiency.[26]. Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, List of United States Marine Corps astronauts, List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals, List of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing Commanders, "Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington C.O. Four of the five lieutenant generals collected tombstone promotions to general by retiring on 1 November 1959, the day the tombstone promotion law expired, but Verne J. McCaul chose to remain on duty until Shoup took office on 1 January 1960.[44]. internet device. 1999 July 1 First African American Marine Corps Sergeant Major is Alford L. McMichael. Out of 82 Marine generals overall today, there are six African-American brigadier generals and one African-American major general. Still, while it mayhelp makeselections of lower-ranking officers more color-blind, and perhapsgivethe servicemore Blackcolonels to choose from down the line,it is unlikely to make much difference on brigadier general boards themselves:theCorps is too small and every officer on the board is likely to knowevery colonel up for consideration. Such a leader would have commanded troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, bearing responsibility for the lives of Marines who shed blood in poppy fields, mountain ranges and desolate desert villages. Of these, 56 achieved that rank while on active duty, 17 were promoted upon retirement in recognition of combat citations ("tombstone promotions", 19421959), and one was promoted posthumously. to learn more. USMC Flags May21 - Updated by U.S. There have been 51 three-star . But in explaining the absence of anyone but white men in the top positions, Marine officials often first cite the small number of African-American Marines who go into combat arms, the area from which all but one four-star general have risen. Uploaded by The term is used in the military to refer to an issue in the past it was safety or sexual assault or suicide that the defense secretary decided was important enough that it needs to be addressed through discussions with troops worldwide. Colin Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. To be sure, it is only recently that the Corps has had four-star officers in any abundance. The rest have received one or two stars, the majority in areas such as logistics and transportation and communications, specialties that, unlike combat arms, rarely lead into the most senior leadership. officer positions are predominantly white and male, an examination of his career by The New York Times. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. And yet, Henderson has not yet made brigadier general in three tries. For that matter, so is the officer corps writ large, andfew Marines will ever meet a general. content and messages you see on other websites you visit. Required advice and consent of the Senate on any proposal by the secretary of defense to increase the retired grade of any military officer through the reopening of the determination or certification of said officer's retired grade. If such a date cannot be found, the next date substituted should be that of the officer's assumption of his/her first three-star appointment. After Iraq, Colonel Henderson was sent to Afghanistan. But the issue bears a closer look. Retired Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen, who made history twice as the first African-American aviator in the Marine Corps and then as the Corps' first African-American general, has died at 83, the . The Marines have long cultivated a reputation as the nations toughest fighting force, but it remains an institution where a handful of white men command 185,000 white, African-American, Hispanic and Asian men and women. At one point, Colonel Henderson challenged the entire battalion to a fight after a hazing episode in the barracks rippled through the ranks. One lieutenant general commanded Marines deployed overseas under Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, and a second lieutenant general commanded Marines being readied for deployment under Marine Training and Replacement Command. Removed statutory requirement for the director of the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, if a commissioned officer, to hold grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral. The number of officers in the Marine Corps (per the 2017 NDAA) who may hold the grade of lieutenant general after subtracting the two officers holding the grade of general is 15. We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to Non-members can read five free Proceedings articles per month. Officers of flag rank and senior enlisted leaders of the Marine Corps on active duty as of March 2020. In 1942, it led the first Black recruits to the Marines. Since 1985, a number of Marines have served in joint positions holding four-star rank, and it is no longer uncommon for the Corps to have four or five four-star generals on active duty at the same time. (18971973) Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, 19531961. If he does not make it the results will not be announced for months his acquaintances say he is likely to leave the Marines. List of active duty United States Marine Corps major generals, U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command, Program Executive Officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs, List of active duty United States four-star officers, List of active duty United States three-star officers, List of active duty United States Army major generals, List of active duty United States rear admirals, List of active duty United States Air Force major generals, List of active duty United States Space Force general officers, List of active duty United States senior enlisted leaders and advisors, List of current United States National Guard major generals, List of United States Army four-star generals, List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals, List of United States Navy four-star admirals, List of United States Air Force four-star generals, List of United States Coast Guard four-star admirals, "Marine Corps General Officers and Senior Enlisted Leaders", "PN2799 Marine Corps, 117th Congress (2021-2022)", "PN1429 Marine Corps, 117th Congress (2021-2022)", "Marine Aviator Major General James H. Adams Is Armed Forces Day Keynote Speaker; Parade Includes 9-School Mass Band, ROTC Units", "Maj. Gen Salene Promotion [Image 4 of 4]", "J5 Strategic Planning and Policy Directorate", "Michael J. Borgschulte - Manpower Management, M&RA, Headquarters Marine Corps", "RESERVE AFFAIRS DIVISION (RA) REORGANIZATION", "FISCAL YEAR 2023 BILLET ASSIGNMENTS FOR RESERVE SERGEANTS MAJOR AND FIRST SERGEANTS FOR INITIAL AND SUBSEQUENT TOURS", "Marine Corps General Officers and Senior Enlisted Leaders, May 2021", "Commanding General, MAGTF Training Command, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center", "Maj. Gen. Austin 'Sparky' Renforth, Wheeling Native, To Retire", "Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations Pacific", "Yesterday, I changed command of the Joint Forces Staff College", "Commanding General, Marine Corps Logistics Command", "Marine Corps Information Command to be activated in FY23, commanded by the service's cyber and space leader", "Marine Corps Forces Space Command is here", "Leadership - Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command", "Major General King Assumes Command of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa", "MARSOC bids farewell to Maj. Gen. James F. Glynn", "Commanding General, Third Marine Aircraft Wing", "Cherry Point to hold change of command ceremony for major general Thursday", "Commanding General - Major General Eric E. Austin", "Program Executive Office Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault & Special Mission", Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_active_duty_United_States_Marine_Corps_major_generals&oldid=1149740743, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0.