information by using this toggle switch. Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Positions held in an acting capacity are italicized. Commander, Marine Forces Japan/Commander. Tyler Byther. Against this record, the Marines lack of even a single Black four-star merits investigation. By 1994, he had a law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, La., and was headed to be a staff judge advocate a lawyer for the Corps. Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the The commanders directly advise the defense secretary and the president. Many African-American Marine officers believe that to succeed in the Marines, Black officers must find a way to tell white officials what they want to hear. Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Major General. Entries in the following list of four-star generals are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was promoted to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty. There is only one woman in the group: Gen. Maryanne Miller, the chief of the Air Forces Air Mobility Command, who is white. [Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011], [National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017], [National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020]. Colonel Henderson in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2008. Passed Over 3 Times, a Black Marine Colonel Is Being Promoted to General It is difficult for those outside the armed services to understand the prestige that comes with becoming a four-star general or admiral. King, opposed promoting more Marines to that rank, but King relented after Alexander A. Vandegrift, recently awarded the Medal of Honor for the Battle of Guadalcanal, was assigned to command the first Marine amphibious corps and slated to succeed Holcomb as commandant. Hes exactly the kind of warrior-scholar America needs in its senior ranks. [36] The exceptions were Keller E. Rockey and Robert H. Pepper, who preferred to revert to major general rather than retire at the end of their three-star assignments;[37] Thomas E. Watson, who relinquished command of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific for an assignment at Headquarters Marine Corps, but retired for ill health only three months later;[38] Merwin H. Silverthorn, who was too young to retire for age when his three-star assignment ended and Congress had suspended early retirements;[39] and Verne J. McCaul, who chose to sacrifice a fourth star to stay on active duty until the new commandant took office two months after tombstone promotions ended. Previously, in 2001, General Pace was the first Marine officer to be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS). 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. Proceedings. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. Colonel Henderson is Black. 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. Smith finally received his third star two years later, after he was too old to be considered for commandant. Comments. List of historically notable United States Marines - Military Wiki will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Combat citation promotions were colloquially known as "tombstone promotions" because they conferred all the perks and prestige of the higher rank including the loftier title on their tombstones but no additional retirement pay. VIEW BIO. Smith received his third star only after the naval commanders at Tarawa, Raymond A. Spruance and Richmond K. Turner, were rewarded with promotions in March 1944. Maj. of Marine Corps sword of office changes hands", "African American Milestones in Naval History", "WORLD WAR II Montford Point Marines: Honoring And Preserving Their Legacy", "Political activist Isabell Masters, whose presidential ambitions started in Pasadena, dies at 98", "Marine Corps' Magnetism Beckons Future General into World of Elite Warfighters", "Sergeant Reckless Korean War horse statue going to KY Horse Park", "Statue of heroic Korean War horse Sgt. All six have garnered respect across the political spectrum. 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.. Such honorary increases in rank at retirement were called tombstone promotions, since their only tangible benefit was the right to carve the higher rank on one's tombstone. 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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. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our While promotion through captain is essentially automatic, fewer than 70 percent of Marine captains make major; fewer than sixty percent of majors make lieutenant colonel; and fewer than 40 percent of lieutenant colonels make full colonel. Over all, the military has long promoted itself as one of the most diverse institutions in the country. officer positions are predominantly white and male, an examination of his career by The New York Times. Colonel Henderson moved through the ranks at a lightning pace. But in the corridors outside promotion board conference rooms, that was accepted as conventional wisdom. There have been 74 four-star generals in the history of the United States Marine Corps. ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy The Officer Personnel Act of 1947 authorized only two lieutenant generals for the Marine Corps after 1 July 1948, except during war or national emergency. 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. Marines searching a bazaar for weapons in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2008. Indeed, at the 26-year mark, Henderson is still under the average. The Pentagon, which for the first time has a Black secretary of defense, is facing a reckoning on race after the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol laid bare the deep inroads that extremist groups have made into the American military, both active duty and retired: A number of the Capitol rioters with ties to extremist groups also have ties to military service. Langley is one of just half a dozen Black Marine generals. U.S. Marines are set to have the first Black 4-star general in their The highest rank in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps is General (four star), followed by Lieutenant General (three star), Major General (two star) and Brigadier General (one star). to take that as a valid request to opt-out. [41] When picking a commandant in 1947, President Harry S. Truman judged Cates and Shepherd to be equally qualified. Who Were the Montford Point Marines? - JSTOR Daily You can usually find these settings in the Options or Not one has made it to the top four-star rank, an honor the Marines have bestowed on 72 white men. The consensus was that Tony had to sand off the rough edges, said retired Col. Thomas Hobbs, who was at amphibious warfare school with Colonel Henderson and who spoke with people involved in Colonel Hendersons last promotion board. The men are smiling as they hold their white Marine Corps coffee mugs. Brown Jr., the Air Force chief of staff, and Gen. Michael X. Garrett, who leads the Army Forces Command. [39] (When Graves B. Erskine retired early to accept a civilian position in the Department of Defense in 1953, Congress had to pass special legislation to exempt him. 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Obviously, America has a long history of racial discrimination and Black servicemembers were only relatively recently admitted to the officer corps as anything like equal members. Colonel Henderson led Marines through intense fighting in the Garmsir District known as Jugroom Fort in Afghanistan in 2008. To be sure, it is only recently that the Corps has had four-star officers in any abundance. We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to At one point, Colonel Henderson challenged the entire battalion to a fight after a hazing episode in the barracks rippled through the ranks. And, as shocking as it may seem today,no Marine held a unified combatant command billetuntil George Christ took the helm of Central Command in November 1985. Recruitment of black men for the Marine Corps started on June 1, 1942, a year after the order . It ranks above lieutenant general ( three-star general ). The number of years of active-duty service at four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Date of rank" column from the last year in the "Position" column. About 20 to 30 joint service three-star billets exist at any given time that can be occupied by a Marine Corps lieutenant general, among the most prestigious being the director of the Joint Staff (DJS), principal staff advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and historically considered a stepping stone to four-star rank. Reverted to lieutenant general, Jan 1952; retired as general, Jun 1954. In all the services, simply making colonel/captain is a signifier of elite accomplishment. 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. The number of years in commission before being promoted to three-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column. [56], Military nominations are considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee. performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. Updated Wed Dec 21 10:00:27 EST 2022. 5201, to retire in that grade. A respected, combat-tested Black colonel has been passed over three times for promotion to brigadier general. SSPL / Getty Images. The rest have received one or two stars, the majority in areas like logistics, aviation and transport, areas from which the Marine Corps does not choose its senior leadership. Black Marines point to what they consider an uneven standard when it comes to promotions for white Marine officers compared with their African-American counterparts. Michelle Howard became the first Black woman to pin on four-star rank in 2014. Gen. Michael Langley becomes the Marine Corps' first Black four-star The number of years in commission before being promoted to four-star rank is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column. At the President's behest, the House Military Affairs Committee approved only the four-star promotion for the chief of staff. able to use or see these sharing tools. Only 25 African-Americans have reached general in any form in the Marine Corps, and only one other Brig. It ranks above lieutenant general (three-star 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. John P. Abizaid. Since Cates was senior, Truman appointed Cates first and promised to appoint Shepherd next. 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. 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. Lieutenant generals entered the Marine Corps via several paths: 36 via Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at a civilian . You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts Further, because the Marines eschew early promotions of its best officers, the average brigadier general pins on his first star with 28 years of servicelater than in any other service and fully two years slower than the Air Force. Naval Institute. Holcomb's superior, chief of naval operations Ernest J. US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Langley was promoted to the rank of general in a ceremony Saturday, becoming the first Black four-star general in the military branch's 246-year history. WASHINGTON All things being equal, Col. Anthony Henderson has the military background that the Marine Corps says it prizes in a general: multiple combat tours, leadership experience and the respect of those he commanded and most who commanded him. He was the first Black Marine to command all of them at every level. [50] Senior staff officers under the Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) directly reporting to the commandant and/or the assistant commandant may also hold the rank of lieutenant general. There are 14 three-star billets in the United States Marine Corps. Current and former Marine Corps officials point to Colonel Hendersons personality as an explanation for why he has been passed over, including what they call his tendency to speak his mind traits that have not disqualified white Marine colonels. Uploaded by 147/5/1,419. Any general who actually served in a grade while on active duty receives precedence on the retirement list over any tombstone general holding the same retired grade. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the African-American U.S. Marine Corps' General Officers by Herbert Booker. He has moved through the ranks of the Marines at a lightning pace. This is a complete list of four-star generals in the United States Marine Corps. [52] Internationally-based three-star positions include the United States military representative to the NATO Military Committee (USMILREP) and the security coordinator for the Palestinian National Authority in Israel. Any lieutenant general was a viable candidate for commandant if he was young enough to complete a full four-year term before reaching the statutory retirement age of 62, as were prominent major generals. The things not in his record are what have kept Colonel Henderson from getting that star, he said in an interview. Since the Marines 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. These include commanders of high-level Marine Corps commands, such as the marine expeditionary forces and Marine service component commands. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. 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. Hes an individual who will work above and beyond what is required. Leader Biographies - United States Marine Corps Repealed 30-day waiting period following congressional notification before officers below grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral may wear insignia of the next higher grade. To make it to four stars, a candidate needs combat postings in his background. Aside from exemplary performance as an Infantry officer through his long career, with a desirable mix of fleet and broadening assignments, he has excelled in the classroom, participating in prestigious programs at MIT and Harvard in addition to staff and war college.
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