Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps


The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps is the second highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps, and serves as a deputy for the commandant of the Marine Corps. Before 1946, the title was known as the assistant to the commandant.
The assistant commandant is nominated for appointment by the president and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. In the event that the commandant is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the assistant commandant assumes the duties and responsibilities of the commandant. For this reason, the assistant commandant is appointed to a rank equal to the sitting commandant; since 1971, each assistant commandant has been, by statute, a four-star general, making it the most common rank held among Marines serving this position. Additionally, he may perform other duties that the CMC assigns to him. Historically, the assistant comandant has served for two to three years. In recent decades, the assistant commandant has frequently been a Marine aviator. James F. Amos is the first aviator to serve as the assistant commandant and then be promoted to commandant.
The 35th and current assistant commandant is Gary L. Thomas, who took office on 4 October 2018, when Glenn M. Walters retired. The first Marine to hold the billet as the "assistant to the commandant" was Eli K. Cole, while Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. was the first to hold it as the "assistant commandant".

List of previous appointees

Assistants to the commandant of the Marine Corps

Before the official title of "Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps" was adopted in 1946, the title of the position was known as "Assistant to the Commandant" and before 1918, known only as "Duty in the Office of the Commandant". No records exist before the outbreak of World War I about this position, possibly because the Commandant likely had only administrative staff and no deputy.
The first assistant to the commandant was Lieutenant Colonel Eli K. Cole, who assumed the position on April 29, 1911. From April 29, 1911, to October 16, 1946, 19 men were assigned to assist the commandant, including five who later became commandant: John A. Lejeune, Wendell C. Neville, Ben H. Fuller, John H. Russell Jr., and Alexander A. Vandegrift.
#PhotoRankNameTenure fromTenure toBecame Commandant
1O-05ColonelNo
2O-07Brigadier GeneralYes
3O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
4O-08Major GeneralYes
5O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
6O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
7O-07Brigadier GeneralYes
8O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
9O-07Brigadier GeneralYes
10O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
11O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
12O-06Brigadier GeneralNo
13O-07Brigadier GeneralYes
14O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
15O-07Brigadier GeneralNo
16O-O8Major GeneralNo
17O-08Major GeneralNo
18O-08Major GeneralNo
19O-08Major GeneralNo

Assistant commandants of the Marine Corps

In 1946, Congress established the position of "assistant commandant of the Marine Corps" and since then, 31 men have held the position. Major General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. was the first to hold the billet and went on to become commandant, as well as six others: Randolph M. Pate, Leonard F. Chapman Jr., Robert H. Barrow, Paul X. Kelley, James F. Amos and Joseph Dunford.
As with the commandant, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps is appointed by the president based on advice and consent of the Senate and, once appointed, will be promoted to the grade of general. The duties of the assistant commandant include such authority and duties as the commandant – and with the approval of the secretary of the Navy – may delegate to or prescribe for him. Orders issued by the assistant commandant in performing such duties have the same effect as those issued by the commandant. When there is a vacancy in the office of the commandant of the Marine Corps, or during the absence or disability of the commandant, the assistant commandant shall perform the duties of the commandant until a successor is appointed or the absence or disability ceases.
#PhotoRankNameTenure fromTenure toBecame Commandant
1O-08Major GeneralYes
2O-08Major GeneralNo
3O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
4O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
5O-09Lieutenant GeneralYes
6O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
7O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
8O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
9O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
10O-09Lieutenant GeneralNo
11O-09Lieutenant GeneralYes
12O-10GeneralNo
13O-10General
No
14O-10GeneralNo
15O-10GeneralNo
16O-10GeneralNo
17O-10GeneralYes
18O-10GeneralNo
19O-10GeneralYes
20O-10GeneralNo
21O-10GeneralNo
22O-10GeneralNo
23O-10GeneralNo
24O-10GeneralNo
25O-10GeneralNo
26O-10GeneralNo
27O-10GeneralNo
28O-10GeneralNo
29O-10GeneralNo
30O-10GeneralNo
31O-10GeneralYes
32O-10GeneralYes
33O-10GeneralNo
34O-10GeneralNo
35O-10Generalincumbent

Timeline


ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:10
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1910 till:2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1910
Define $now = 2018
Colors =
id:cmc value:rgb legend: CMC
id:acmc value:rgb legend: ACMC
id:time value:rgb
Legend = orientation:vertical position:right
LineData =
layer:back
width:0.1
color:time
at:1910
at:1920
at:1930
at:1940
at:1950
at:1960
at:1970
at:1980
at:1990
at:2000
at:2010
at:2020
BarData =
barset:PM
bar:biddle
bar:cole
bar:barnett
bar:lejeune
bar:long
bar:neville
bar:feland
bar:dwilliams
bar:fuller
bar:myers
bar:russell
bar:mcdougal
bar:little
bar:holcomb
bar:hsmith
bar:vandegrift
bar:barrett
bar:keyser
bar:schmidt
bar:rockey
bar:peck
bar:turnage
bar:shepherd
bar:cates
bar:osmith
bar:silverthorn
bar:thomas
bar:pate
bar:megee
bar:mccaul
bar:shoup
bar:munn
bar:hayes
bar:greene
bar:mangrum
bar:chapman
bar:walt
bar:mccutcheon
bar:rdavis
bar:cushman
bar:anderson
bar:wilson
bar:jaskilka
bar:barrow
bar:mclennan
bar:kelley
bar:jdavis
bar:morgan
bar:gray
bar:went
bar:dailey
bar:mundy
bar:boomer
bar:hearney
bar:krulak
bar:neal
bar:dake
bar:jones
bar:mwilliams
bar:nyland
bar:hagee
bar:magnus
bar:conway
bar:amos
bar:dunford
bar:paxton
bar:neller
bar:walters
bar:thomas2
PlotData=
width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift: anchor:till
barset:PM
bar:biddle from: 1911 till: 1914 color:cmc text:Biddle
bar:cole from: 1911 till: 1915 color:acmc text:Cole
bar:barnett from: 1914 till: 1920 color:cmc text:Barnett
bar:lejeune from: 1915 till: 1917 color:acmc
bar:lejeune from: 1920 till: 1929 color:cmc text:Lejeune
bar:long from: 1917 till: 1920 color:acmc text:Long
bar:neville from: 1920 till: 1923 color:acmc
bar:neville from: 1929 till: 1930 color:cmc text:Neville
bar:feland from: 1923 till: 1925 color:acmc text:Feland
bar:dwilliams from: 1925 till: 1928 color:acmc text:D. Williams
bar:fuller from: 1928 till: 1930 color:acmc
bar:fuller from: 1930 till: 1933 color:cmc text:Fuller
bar:myers from: 1930 till: 1933 color:acmc text:Myers
bar:russell from: 1933 till: 1934 color:acmc
bar:russell from: 1934 till: 1936 color:cmc text:Russell
bar:mcdougal from: 1934 till: 1935 color:acmc text:McDougal
bar:little from: 1935 till: 1937 color:acmc text:Little
bar:holcomb from: 1936 till: 1944 color:cmc text:Holcomb
bar:hsmith from: 1939 till: 1940 color:acmc text:H. Smith
bar:vandegrift from: 1940 till: 1941 color:acmc
bar:vandegrift from: 1944 till: 1948 color:cmc text:Vandegrift
bar:barrett from: 1941 till: 1942 color:acmc text:Barrett
bar:keyser from: 1942 till: 1943 color:acmc text:Keyser
bar:schmidt from: 1942 till: 1943 color:acmc text:Schmidt
bar:rockey from: 1943 till: 1944 color:acmc text:Rockey
bar:peck from: 1944 till: 1945 color:acmc text:Peck
bar:turnage from: 1945 till: 1946 color:acmc text:Turnage
bar:shepherd from: 1946 till: 1948 color:acmc
bar:shepherd from: 1952 till: 1956 color:cmc text:Shepard
bar:cates from: 1948 till: 1952 color:cmc text:Cates
bar:osmith from: 1948 till: 1950 color:acmc text:O. Smith
bar:silverthorn from: 1950 till: 1952 color:acmc text:Silverthorn
bar:thomas from: 1952 till: 1954 color:acmc text:Thomas
bar:pate from: 1954 till: 1956 color:acmc
bar:pate from: 1956 till: 1960 color:cmc text:Pate
bar:megee from: 1956 till: 1957 color:acmc text:Megee
bar:mccaul from: 1957 till: 1960 color:acmc text:McCaul
bar:shoup from: 1960 till: 1964 color:cmc text:Shoup
bar:munn from: 1960 till: 1963 color:acmc text:Munn
bar:hayes from: 1963 till: 1965 color:acmc text:Hayes
bar:greene from: 1964 till: 1968 color:cmc text:Greene
bar:mangrum from: 1965 till: 1967 color:acmc text:Mangrum
bar:chapman from: 1967 till: 1968 color:acmc
bar:chapman from: 1968 till: 1972 color:cmc text:Chapman
bar:walt from: 1969 till: 1971 color:acmc text:Walt
bar:mccutcheon from: 1971 till: 1971 color:acmc text:McCutcheon
bar:rdavis from: 1971 till: 1972 color:acmc text:R. Davis
bar:cushman from: 1971 till: 1975 color:cmc text:Cushman
bar:anderson from: 1972 till: 1975 color:acmc text:Anderson
bar:wilson from: 1975 till: 1979 color:cmc text:Wilson
bar:jaskilka from: 1976 till: 1978 color:acmc text:Jaskilka
bar:barrow from: 1978 till: 1979 color:acmc
bar:barrow from: 1979 till: 1983 color:cmc text:Barrow
bar:mclennan from: 1979 till: 1981 color:acmc text:McLennan
bar:kelley from: 1981 till: 1983 color:acmc
bar:kelley from: 1983 till: 1987 color:cmc text:Kelly
bar:jdavis from: 1983 till: 1986 color:acmc text:J. Davis
bar:morgan from: 1986 till: 1988 color:acmc text:Morgan
bar:gray from: 1987 till: 1991 color:cmc text:Gray
bar:went from: 1988 till: 1990 color:acmc text:Went
bar:dailey from: 1990 till: 1992 color:acmc text:Dailey
bar:mundy from: 1991 till: 1995 color:cmc text:Mundy
bar:boomer from: 1992 till: 1994 color:acmc text:Boomer
bar:hearney from: 1994 till: 1996 color:acmc text:Hearney
bar:krulak from: 1995 till: 1999 color:cmc text:Krulak
bar:neal from: 1996 till: 1998 color:acmc text:Neal
bar:dake from: 1998 till: 2000 color:acmc text:Dake
bar:jones from: 1999 till: 2003 color:cmc text:Jones
bar:mwilliams from: 2000 till: 2002 color:acmc text:M. Williams
bar:nyland from: 2002 till: 2005 color:acmc text:Nyland
bar:hagee from: 2003 till: 2006 color:cmc text:Hagee
bar:magnus from: 2005 till: 2008 color:acmc text:Magnus
bar:conway from: 2006 till: 2010 color:cmc text:Conway
bar:amos from: 2008 till: 2010 color:acmc
bar:amos from: 2010 till: 2014 color:cmc text:Amos
bar:dunford from: 2010 till: 2012 color:acmc
bar:dunford from: 2014 till: 2015 color:cmc text:Dunford
bar:paxton from: 2012 till: 2016 color:acmc text:Paxton
bar:neller from: 2015 till: $now color:cmc text:Neller
bar:walters from: 2016 till: 2018 color:acmc text:Walters
bar:thomas2 from: 2018 till: $now color:acmc text:Thomas