{"id":32530,"date":"2023-07-10T21:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T21:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:50:17","slug":"the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON \u2014 A Monday morning ceremony marking the end of Gen. David Berger\u2019s four years as commandant involved all the usual trappings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It had the music and marching onto the Marine Barracks Washington parade field, the passing of the Corps\u2019 official battle colors, and the reading of Berger\u2019s orders to relinquish command and retire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But as Berger passed the colors to Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, the ceremony\u2019s narrator did not read orders for Smith to take command of the service. And the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/home\/2022\/08\/22\/marines-dedicate-home-for-top-enlisted-marine-at-historic-barracks\/\" target=\"_blank\"> \u201cHome of the Commandants,\u201d <\/a>the nearly 220-year-old white house at the end of the parade field, will sit empty upon Berger\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the first time since 1910, there is no Senate-confirmed commandant of the Marine Corps at the helm of the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Smith and his wife, Trish, won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the house quite yet, he will have the powers of a confirmed Marine commandant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo make sure that there is no confusion: All orders, directives and guidance in effect this morning remain in effect, unless I direct otherwise,\u201d Smith told the crowd attending Berger\u2019s retirement ceremony. \u201cFurther guidance to the force will follow.\u201d<\/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\">Federal law required Berger to step down Monday, four years after he became commandant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Berger, who has been a Marine since 1981, has said he plans to spend time at the family farm with his wife, Donna, as well as with his four sons and his grandchildren, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/06\/28\/how-the-outgoing-marine-commandant-will-spend-his-retirement\/\">before deciding what work may come next<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lack of Senate confirmation means <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\/\">Smith, who was nominated in May to become the 39th commandant<\/a>, will perform the duties of the No. 1 and No. 2 Marines simultaneously, without a set person to whom he can delegate tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House hasn\u2019t yet nominated the next assistant commandant, who also would be subject to the hold on nominations by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville has single-handedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2023\/06\/08\/joint-chiefs-vacancies-loom-amid-tubervilles-senate-standoff\/\">blocked hundreds of general-officer promotions<\/a> in protest of a Pentagon policy that gives troops leave and travel expenses to help them access out-of-state abortions. Neither the Pentagon nor Tuberville shows signs of backing down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate does have a possible workaround: voting on individual nominees one by one, rather than relying on unanimous consent of senators to speed them through in batches. But that would require several weeks of Senate floor time for the five nominees for the Joint Chiefs of Staff alone, Defense News previously reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the role of acting commandant, Smith told reporters June 29, he also won\u2019t be able to release the planning guidance, which lays out the commandant\u2019s strategic vision for the Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2019\/09\/18\/the-commandant-has-a-new-plan-for-the-marine-corps-heres-how-marines-will-get-the-gear-to-make-it-a-reality\/\">Berger\u2019s planning guidance<\/a>, from 2019, played an important role in the service\u2019s past four years by setting the stage for Force Design 2030 \u2015 the 2020 plan to prepare the Marine Corps for conflict with a technologically sophisticated peer like the Chinese military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can give guidance to the force as the acting commandant, but it does not carry the same weight, quite, as commandants\u2019 planning guidance,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until Smith gets confirmed, he will still be called \u201cassistant commandant of the Marine Corps,\u201d or \u201cACMC\u201d (pronounced \u201cACK-mack\u201d) for short, he emphasized Monday during his remarks at the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is my title, and one that I\u2019m proud of,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou can also say \u2018Devil Dog,\u2019 \u2018leatherneck,\u2019 \u2018Marine\u2019 or \u2018Trish\u2019s husband.\u2019 I respond to all \u2014 probably most proud of the last.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith said after the ceremony that he is the first acting commandant since 1910, when Maj. Gen. George Elliott aged out of the job and the Marine Corps did not have a replacement ready. Maj. Gen. William Biddle became commandant three months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As acting commandant, Smith will focus on continuing the overhaul of the Marine Corps while making sure the force is ready to respond to global crises, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith has been a vocal supporter of Force Design 2030. At his June 14 confirmation hearing he called for the Corps to speed up that modernization as the budget allows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the ceremony Monday, Smith said that he would not wait until his formal confirmation in order to go fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI still retain the authorities of the office of the commandant, so as far as budgetary, experimentation, changing formations, I can still do all that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd those things that are working well for us \u2014 long-range fires, et cetera \u2014 we will move faster on them as long as we have a defense budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Force Design was widely embraced by the Corps, the Pentagon, Congress and industry \u2014 but it attracted its share of opposition, especially from a group of retired general officers who thought Berger was changing the Marine Corps for the worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper Van Riper said that the pushback had nothing to do with Berger as an individual and everything to do with the nature of the reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked what the group thought of Smith\u2019s call to accelerate the modernization and if they\u2019d continue to be as vocally against Force Design under the new leader, Van Riper said the \u201cretired community desires to support General Smith in every way possible if he intends to rebuild a Corps able to respond globally as a combined arms force in an age of precision munitions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Marine Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, a senior research fellow for defense programs at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, said that although Force Design 2030 was Berger\u2019s brainchild, Smith was perfectly positioned to continue and accelerate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his 21 months as assistant commandant, Smith had to get into the weeds of programs and budgets, and work closely with his counterparts on the joint staff, Wood noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile you could say Gen. Berger is kind of the idea [guy], making the argument \u2014 who is actually doing the grunt work and seeing where the obstacles are at and how to make sense of all this? That\u2019s been Gen. Smith the entire time,\u201d Wood said. \u201cSo I think there\u2019s a natural progression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who presided over the ceremony, and Berger both called for the Senate to confirm the next commandant, though they didn\u2019t call out Tuberville by name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSmooth and timely transitions of confirmed leadership are central to the defense of the United States, and to the full strength of the most powerful fighting force in history,\u201d Austin said in a speech on the barrack\u2019s parade field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m with you, Mr. Secretary,\u201d Berger said in a speech that followed. \u201cWe need the Senate to do their job so we can have a sitting commandant that\u2019s appointed and confirmed. We need that house to be occupied.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the &#8220;Home of the Commandants&#8221; quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64699,"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":["newsletters","home","news","your-military"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"10":{"categories":["digital-show-daily","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","naval"],"primary_category":"naval"}}},"categories":[101,23,12,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3360,3358],"class_list":["post-32530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QLDVDMLVNZDRDDUI6NPVKTHAFM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","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>Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910 - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the &quot;Home of the Commandants&quot; quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the &quot;Home of the Commandants&quot; quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irene Loewenson, Megan Eckstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irene Loewenson, Megan Eckstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1120,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Marine Corps\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910 - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the \\\"Home of the Commandants\\\" quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/10\\\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Marine Corps\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-marine-corps\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910 - Marine Corps Times","description":"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the \"Home of the Commandants\" quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910","og_description":"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the \"Home of the Commandants\" quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00","author":"Irene Loewenson, Megan Eckstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Irene Loewenson, Megan Eckstein","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910","datePublished":"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/"},"wordCount":1120,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","News","Newsletters","Your Marine Corps"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/","name":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910 - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-10T21:57:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:50:17+00:00","description":"Gen. Eric Smith and his wife won\u2019t be moving their boxes into the \"Home of the Commandants\" quite yet, but he will have powers of a confirmed top Marine.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Marine Corps","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/","ad_zone":"your-marine-corps"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marines left without a confirmed commandant for 1st time since 1910"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Relinquishment.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32535,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32530\/revisions\/32535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32530"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=32530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}