This is a list of United States Marine Corps divisions.
Official Name | Insignia | Headquarters |
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The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps. It is a four-star general position and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The CMC reports directly to the 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, the Homeland Security Council, 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. The commandant performs all other functions prescribed in Section 8043 in Title 10 of the United States Code 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 Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat during World War II.
Alexander Archer Vandegrift was a United States Marine Corps four-star general. During World War II, he commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of the war, the Battle of Guadalcanal. For his actions from August 7 to December 9, 1942, during the Solomon Islands campaign, he received the Medal of Honor. Vandegrift later served as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was the first four-star general on active duty in the Marine Corps.
Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith, KCB was a general in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He is sometimes called the "father" of modern U.S. amphibious warfare. His nickname, "Howlin' Mad" Smith, had been given to him by his troops in the Dominican Republic in 1916.
Carol A. Mutter is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general. She is one of the first women in the history of the United States Armed Forces to be appointed to a three-star grade, the first in the Marine Corps. She retired from the Marine Corps on January 1, 1999. Her last active duty assignment was as Deputy Chief of Staff, Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Clifton Bledsoe Cates served as the 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1948 to 1951, holding the rank of a United States Marine Corps four-star general. He earned recognition for his heroism during World War I at the Battle of Belleau Wood and for his exceptional leadership during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Cates is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished young officers of World War I. His remarkable career included commanding a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment, and a division, making him one of the few officers across all branches of service to have achieved this feat in combat.
In the United States Armed Forces, a lieutenant general is a three-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
Allen Hal Turnage was a United States Marine Corps General who earned the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal while leading the 3rd Marine Division on Bougainville and Guam in World War II.
The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine Forces provide the National Command Authority (NCA) with a responsive force that can conduct operations in any spectrum of conflict around the globe.
The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation under the command of the unified combatant commanders. The Marine Corps is organized into four principal subdivisions: Headquarters Marine Corps, the Operating Forces, the Supporting Establishment, and the Marine Forces Reserve.
In the United States Armed Forces, a brigadier general is a one-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
The 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 Expeditionary Strike Force and Marine Air-Ground Task Force components that follow under the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Fleet and the Marine Forces Command (MarForCom). The Commanding General of Marine Forces Command is dual-posted as the Commanding General of the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. FMFLANT is under operational control of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet Forces Command, when deployed.
The reconnaissance mission within the United States Marine Corps is divided into two distinct but complementary aspects; Marine Division Recon and Force Reconnaissance.
The United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is a federal law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against people and property within the United States Marine Corps.
Robert Blake Neller is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2015 to 2019.