{"id":32303,"date":"2022-09-09T15:03:57","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T15:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/09\/grit-drive-the-story-of-the-marine-corps-1st-black-4-star-general\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:46:21","slug":"grit-drive-the-story-of-the-marine-corps-1st-black-4-star-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/09\/09\/grit-drive-the-story-of-the-marine-corps-1st-black-4-star-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Grit &#038; drive: The story of the Marine Corps\u2019 1st Black 4-star general"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/09\/01\/1st-black-marine-4-star-takes-trip-to-africa-as-new-africom-leader\/\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Langley <\/a>and his track teammates were \u00adrunning through practice drills, working to shave time off their sprints at the University of Texas at Arlington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was a 400-meter sprinter. Many see it as one the hardest races. It\u2019s a longer distance than the \u00ad100-meter and 200-meter dashes, but still requires all-out effort. It takes a special kind of perseverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Marine gunnery sergeant walked up to Langley and his teammates with a pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat do you guys run the 400-meter in?\u201d the gunny asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gunny promised they\u2019d cut at least a second off their best times if they tried the Platoon Leaders Class \u2014 an entry point for officer training at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia \u2014 and ran with gear through the woods in six weeks of grueling training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, I went to the Platoon Leaders Class in the \u00adsummer of 1983,\u201d Gen. Michael E. Langley told \u00adMarine Corps Times in August. \u201cThat changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Aug. 6, 2022, Gen. Michael E. Langley became the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/08\/03\/its-official-the-marine-corps-has-its-1st-black-4-star-general\/\" target=\"_blank\"> first Black four-star in Marine history.<\/a><\/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\/2022\/08\/03\/its-official-the-marine-corps-has-its-1st-black-4-star-general\/\" 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=\"207\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Langley.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\">It\u2018s official: The Marine Corps has its 1st Black 4-star general<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lt. Gen. Michael Langley will now lead U.S. troops in Africa as the commander of U.S. Africa Command.<\/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\">Much like his track race,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/07\/25\/the-marine-corps-is-set-for-its-first-black-4-star-general\/\" target=\"_blank\"> his Marine career \u00adrequired<\/a> its own special pacing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many times, retirement called. But the Shreveport, Louisiana, native tackled each new demand with a vigor, problem-solving intellect and work ethic matched by few, his fellow Marines have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMike Langley was one of those guys who was told to go and do something really hard, and he said, \u2018Aye, aye sir and he did it,\u201d retired Lt. Gen. Mark A. Brilakis told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those \u201creally hard\u201d assignments included \u00advolunteering with youth, taking units to combat, commanding the 12th Marine Regiment, running training for Marine Expeditionary Units, late nights in the Pentagon\u2019s bowels on cost-cutting missions and heading Marine Forces Command before \u00adrecently taking over U.S. Africa Command in a time of strained resources and increasing operational \u00addemands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley is now one of 74 Marines who\u2019ve held the four-star rank. And several of those were \u201c\u00adtombstone generals,\u201d having been promoted in retirement or posthumously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His achievement stands in stark contrast to comments of the Corps\u2019 first four-star, 17th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Thomas Holcomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holcomb served from 1900\u20131944, rising to the top post in 1936 and leading the Corps through its most transformative period, growing from fewer than 20,000 to more than 475,000 Marines under his tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite those manpower demands, Holcomb held a firm view: The Marine Corps had no room for Black servicemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf it were a question of a Marine Corps of 5,000 whites or 250,000 Negroes, I would rather have the whites,\u201d Holcomb told the Navy General Board in April 1941.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the men may share a rank, Holcomb never served with four stars. He ended his career as a lieutenant general. His fourth star came in retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>A decision<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after the gunny confronted Langley and his teammates on the college track, Langley spoke to the officer selection officer about the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDo you want to lead Marines on the other side of the world?\u201d the Marine had asked. \u201cOr do you want to take the job in the corporate world and be a programmer in a cubicle somewhere in downtown Dallas-Fort Worth (Texas)?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was an easy choice,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The son and younger brother of Air Force veterans, Langley jokes that his father taught him early to \u201caim high,\u201d the service\u2019s motto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, I aimed high and found the Few and the Proud,\u201d Langley said. \u201cHe was kind of bothered that I selected the Marine Corps, but he\u2019s probably the most proud Marine Corps poppa right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley commissioned in 1985 and became an artillery officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps promotes more of its best to the general officer ranks from combat arms. It is a war-fighting organization and commanding combat troops has held a premium from its inception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like many, Langley didn\u2019t plan to become a general. Even if he had, the winnowing process, a combination of hard work, the right postings and some luck can derail those ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When he reached Hotel Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, Camp Lejeune, North \u00adCarolina, the young officer got a feel for what command meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019d say my first experience to be able to lead a guns platoon for a gun section was probably the inaugural piece of, hey, this is what that officer selection officer was talking about,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley faced an early setback when assigned to the Marine Barracks, Washington. Despite his best efforts he was not selected to lead Marines in the coveted evening parades of the Silent Drill Platoon at 8th and I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was in the early 1990s. Washington faced alarming levels of crime and violence and the \u00adsustained drain of the crack-cocaine scourge on \u00adunderprivileged neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Lt. Gen. Ronald Bailey, then a major who would later go on to be the first Black commander of 1st Marine Division, took Langley aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI called him my \u2018mission man,\u2019\u201d Bailey told Marine Corps Times. \u201cThis guy was given a task and can do it better than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley had taken on an extra duty at Bailey\u2019s suggestion. He was leading 200 local \u201cYoung Marines,\u201d a national nonprofit youth organization focusing on leadership and community service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bailey told the young captain the work he did with the group meant more than the parades they held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe shaped their attitudes, shaped their \u00adpersonality, we become role models and I want them to see a guy who looks good in uniform, who was very articulate, very smart, very driven, very purpose focused,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley would leave the Barracks and go on to command units at every step of the ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After multiple combat and overseas deployments, Langley faced another critical junction that hundreds of Marine officers face in a long enough career: the leap from colonel to brigadier general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>A new kind of challenge<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley again weighed his options. He\u2019d put a quarter century of his life into the Corps. Combat deployments? He\u2019d done a few. Commanding and training tactical units? Check that box. Aide to future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace. Yes, sir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But corporate America could really make his life easy. It seemed as though every time he attended recruiting events or functions for the Corps, the siren song of a higher salary and more stable lifestyle beckoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut to me it wasn\u2019t fulfilling just thinking of \u00adjumping ship at the 10-year mark or even the 20-year mark and making more money because it wasn\u2019t as satisfying or fulfilling as the Marine Corps,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Okinawa, Japan, in the late 2000s, Langley oversaw the Special Operations Training Group for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. That MEU would see multiple trips to the Philippines, tsunami and other disaster responses, balancing many of the Corps\u2019 Pacific needs while other wars and crises raged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then-Brig. Gen. Mark Brilakis would sometimes drop by Langley\u2019s office, plop in the chair and query the promising colonel about his plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe had done most of the things he wanted to do in the Marine Corps,\u201d Brilakis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley could stay at the Marine expeditionary force staff level. It\u2019s a high distinction and many end a fine career there, but it wouldn\u2019t have led to the next level, Brilakis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need to do something hard,\u201d Brilakis had told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hard? Let\u2019s recap \u2014 Langley had commanded at nearly every tactical level and rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful, high-ranking Marines in the Corps\u2019 history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also a combat arms Marine, Bailey called the \u00adartillery field unforgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5181\" height=\"3454\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg 5181w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4422032.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5181px) 100vw, 5181px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then Brig. Gen. Michael E. Langley, (left), and Col. John P. Sullivan, (right), stand by for the passing of the colors during the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) relinquishment of command ceremony on Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 23, 2018. (Lance Cpl. Tanner Seims\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An unsafe fire decision means getting fired. Bad maintenance logs mean you get fired. Your unit can\u2019t keep up with supplies or fast moving battle plans \u2014 fired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe survived in an artillery field where you don\u2019t get second chances,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Brilakis meant a different kind of hard \u2014 the dollars and cents of running a lean Marine Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley shouldered his ruck and put in for a job at Programs and Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He arrived at the Pentagon, reporting to Lt. Gen. John Wissler. It was 2010, as Afghanistan heated up, Iraq wound down. The Corps faced demands as it hadn\u2019t seen since Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWissler told me, you are going to be the efficiencies guy across the Marine Corps,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That meant traveling the Corps to tell already strapped commanders they had to cut more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no guy in the world who wants to be the assistant deputy commandant for programs and resources, nobody,\u201d Brilakis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley worked those numbers, telling people what they didn\u2019t want to hear. Such as his look at the expeditionary fighting vehicle, the replacement for the cherished, but aging, amphibious assault vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines wanted it, maybe needed it. And after decades of development and more than $3 billion in spending, the Corps expected it by 2015. Based in part on Langley\u2019s recommendation, then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates canceled it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can lose friendships,\u201d Brilakis said. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Race and the Corps<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps was the last military branch to accept Black recruits and it put those recruits in all-Black training units at Montford Point, North Carolina, beginning in 1942.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The units remained segregated, despite combat performance in the Pacific. The Montford Point camp was decommissioned in 1949 as Black Marines integrated into the force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another Marine trailblazer shared his view of the Corps and race with Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s interesting that it took 40 years for Frank Peterson to get his first star and now, 40 years later, Gen. Langley is getting his fourth star,\u201d said \u00adMontford Point Marine and former U.S. Ambassador Theodore R. Britton Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Gen. Frank Peterson was the first Black Marine aviator and the Corps\u2019 first Black general officer, promoted to brigadier general in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In comparison, the Air Force had promoted Daniel \u201cChappie\u201d James to four-star general in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"969\" height=\"2131\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg 969w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg?resize=136,300 136w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1689 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg?resize=466,1024 466w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg?resize=698,1536 698w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MAR_Diversity-Data-Graph.jpg.jpg?resize=931,2048 931w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marine diversity data Sept 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of today\u2019s Marine colonels started their career paths more than two decades ago. For generals that could be as far back as the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are 883 colonels and 103 general officers total in the combined active and reserve Marine Corps currently, according to Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For both colonels and all ranks of general officers, 85% are white. Forty-six, or 5% of colonels, identify as Black, while nearly 10% of general officers, or 10, identify as Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For colonels and general officers about 2% identify as Asian, while nearly 4% of colonels and 1% of general officers identify as Hispanic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Britton noted it hadn\u2019t always been that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An enlisted Marine with service in both World War II and Korea, he applied for a commission but said when the promotion board discovered he had fought publicly against segregation, he was turned down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m so happy for (Langley) and for the Corps,\u201d Britton said. \u201cIt\u2019s been improving all along. The \u00adcountry\u2019s been improving too, but especially the Marine Corps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley acknowledged the historic significance of his promotion in an interview with Marine Corps Times, but he pushed back on race having created hurdles in his career path. Instead, he referenced the opportunities he\u2019s had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he worries that some underrepresented \u00adpopulations both in and outside of the Marines have a misconception of the Corps and their place in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are opportunities built on meritocracy,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Langley values diversity, he said, but not only of race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOperational excellence comes from a diverse group, whether in gender, or even race, collectively, the Marine Corps gets greater value on a collective set of diverse individuals coming together as a unified team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process from colonel to one-star is brutal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Langley\u2019s work proved its worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Out of hundreds of Marine colonels reviewed for brigadier general promotion each year, sometimes only 10 are chosen, Wissler, now retired, said. Those selected learn early that they\u2019re special, but just barely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the brigadier general officer orientation Wissler attended, the message was clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey tell you if 10 of you are killed in a bus crash, we can find 10 just as good,\u201d Wissler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pace only quickens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe commandant tells you, \u2018Congratulations, enjoy the moment,\u201d Wissler said. \u201cBut from the time you pin on you get on the treadmill and there are only two buttons \u2014 faster and increase elevation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After pinning his first star, Langley went on to serve as deputy commanding general of II \u00adMarine Expeditionary Force and later led Marine Forces Command and Marine Forces Northern Command in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Col. Reginald McClam, recently appointed commander of The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, first met Langley when the general led 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McClam told Marine Corps Times that he\u2019d known of Langley by reputation for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coming up as a Black infantry officer in the \u00admid-1990s, McClam didn\u2019t see many in his same boots in that job field.<\/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\/2022\/09\/01\/1st-black-marine-4-star-takes-trip-to-africa-as-new-africom-leader\/\" 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=\"162\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/KT3KXY6FXBEQXJ7PCEZ5JPJVTY.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\">1st Black Marine 4-star takes trip to Africa as new AFRICOM leader<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Gen. Michael Langley has been tasked with leading troops on the continent against escalating threats from militant groups.<\/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\">\u201cFor whatever reason, he just naturally grabbed me as a mentee,\u201d McClam said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The colonel attended Langley\u2019s promotions to both three and four star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat that does is it shows people you can do it,\u201d McClam said. \u201cYoung lieutenants can sit inside Henderson Hall and look and go, \u2018I can be a Gen. Langley,\u2019 agnostic of their race, creed, color, religion, they see a general officer who did it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Washington rumors percolated this past summer that Langley would be nominated to serve as commander of U.S. Africa Command. He attended confirmation hearings in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the whirlwind that followed, Langley returned to the Washington Barracks for his promotion to general by Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger, and then off to his new home in Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters of AFRICOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a force where all but one who has reached four stars are white males, seeing different faces in those positions matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Marine Corps needs African American generals, and we need more,\u201d Brilakis said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of young kids who look up and they get inspired by the Marine Corps early and they look around for \u00adpeople they can aspire to and it\u2019s necessary that we have all sorts of folks in the senior leader ranks to provide aspiration for others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The diversity of thinking, backgrounds and \u00adexperience also matters, Langley said. And he wants Marines to know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The defense department needs the Marine Corps as much now as ever, he said. Especially as the Pentagon pivots to a new kind of combat and competition landscape. A diverse Marine Corps can better deliver on that tasking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd these young Marines, if they want to be part of something special, they will stay Marine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In comparison, the Air Force had promoted Daniel \u201cChappie\u201d James to four-star general in 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