{"id":31802,"date":"2023-09-21T18:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T18:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/21\/the-marine-corps-finally-gets-an-official-top-leader\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:11:13","slug":"the-marine-corps-finally-gets-an-official-top-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/21\/the-marine-corps-finally-gets-an-official-top-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"The Marine Corps finally gets an official top leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate voted Thursday to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/18\/as-both-the-no-1-and-no-2-marine-his-schedule-is-not-sustainable\/\" target=\"_blank\">confirm Gen. Eric Smith<\/a> to be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/06\/14\/next-commandant-says-he-will-accelerate-marine-corps-transformation\/\" target=\"_blank\">top Marine general<\/a>, ending a monthslong limbo for the Corps as it lacked an official commandant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith, who had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/27\/marine-aviator-picked-as-choice-for-assistant-commandant-of-the-corps\/\" target=\"_blank\">served as assistant commandant <\/a>since 2021, assumed the role of acting commandant upon the retirement in July of Commandant Gen. David Berger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House in May <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/05\/31\/bidens-pick-to-lead-the-marine-corps-helped-design-its-new-vision\/\" target=\"_blank\">picked Smith as the official replacement<\/a> for Berger. But Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, has refused to provide unanimous consent to batches of military nominees \u2015 the standard process for confirming the leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As acting commandant, Smith has had almost all the same authorities as a Senate-confirmed commandant.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/05\/31\/bidens-pick-to-lead-the-marine-corps-helped-design-its-new-vision\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4080330.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Biden\u2019s pick to lead the Marine Corps helped design its new vision<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">President Joe Biden nominated Gen. Eric Smith Tuesday to serve as the next commandant of the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, he couldn\u2019t issue the commandant\u2019s long-term planning guidance. He couldn\u2019t live in the Home of the Commandants or bear the title commandant. His official title remained \u201cassistant commandant of the Marine Corps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the biggest disruption in the office of the commandant caused by the leadership vacancy was that Smith was serving in the Corps\u2019 No. 1 and No. 2 positions at the same time \u2014 and that apparently hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nominee to replace Smith as assistant commandant, Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, is still awaiting confirmation by the Senate. In response to a Marine Corps Times question about whether Smith could appoint an acting assistant, Maj. Joshua Larson, a spokesman for Smith, declined on Wednesday to make any statements on the impending confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without a deputy, Smith said Sept. 6, he has ended up with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/18\/as-both-the-no-1-and-no-2-marine-his-schedule-is-not-sustainable\/\">a \u201cnot sustainable\u201d schedule<\/a> that doesn\u2019t leave him enough hours in the day to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t mind breaking my own back,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s just, I have to make good decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville initiated his blockade in protest of a Pentagon policy that covers travel expenses and paid leave for service members who travel out of state to seek abortions \u2014 a policy he and many other Republican lawmakers see as violating a law barring the use of federal funds for abortions. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3301006\/dod-releases-policies-to-ensure-access-to-non-covered-reproductive-health-care\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Defense Department has said the policy<\/a> is part of \u201ctaking care of our people, ensuring their health and well-being, and ensuring the Force remains ready and resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, hadn\u2019t begun the time-intensive process of holding individual votes on nominees to get around the blockade. But on Tuesday night, Tuberville signaled his intention of forcing a vote on one nominee: Smith, whom the Alabama senator previously had said he looked forward to supporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, Schumer announced his intention to hold a vote on three top military nominees, including Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Schumer said Wednesday, \u201cDue to the extraordinary circumstances of Sen. Tuberville\u2019s reckless decisions, Democrats will take action. It\u2019s not the path a vast majority of senators on either side of the aisle want to go down, but Sen. Tuberville is forcing us to face his obstruction head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That evening, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2023\/05\/05\/what-gen-cq-brown-would-bring-as-chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senate confirmed Air Force Gen. CQ Brown <\/a>to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senators confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2023\/07\/12\/gen-randy-george-once-admonished-is-now-army-chief-in-waiting\/\">Gen. Randy George<\/a> as Army chief early Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vote for Smith followed, with 96 senators, including Tuberville, voting to confirm him and none voting against him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s unclear when Smith formally will assume the role of commandant. Spokespeople for Smith and the Department of the Navy didn\u2019t immediately respond to Marine Corps Times\u2019 inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville said Wednesday he plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuberville.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/tuberville-forces-floor-vote-on-military-nominations\/\" target=\"_blank\">continue his hold on the more than 300 military nominees<\/a> who remain unconfirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Democrats want to complain then they should look in the mirror,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t control the Senate floor \u2014 the Democrats do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, general officers nominated to lead the Marine Corps\u2019 Reserve; plans, policies and operations; the Pacific-based III Marine Expeditionary Force; programs and resources; aviation division; and more are awaiting confirmation, according to Pentagon news releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz, the top enlisted Marine, has been in his role since August. As an enlisted leader, he didn\u2019t require Senate confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the California-based I Marine Expeditionary Force, made up of approximately 48,000 service members, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/08\/31\/largest-marine-expeditionary-force-has-no-senate-confirmed-leader\/\">a major general<\/a> is still at the helm in an acting capacity, rather than a more senior lieutenant general, following the retirement of the force\u2019s leader in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith to be the top Marine general, ending a monthslong limbo for the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":63963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","home","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,23,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3360],"class_list":["post-31802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XC3FORGAMNFM5KVR25P2J5FM5Y","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/21\/the-marine-corps-finally-gets-an-official-top-leader\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Marine Corps finally gets an official top leader - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Gen. 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