Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, left, and Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz, right, stand at attention during the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps relief and appointment ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., Aug. 10, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo
THE PENTAGON – Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz readied himself to join the U.S. Space Force when fate stepped in, as it had so many other times during his career as a Marine.
Instead of switching branches, the former top enlisted...
Marine Corps MQ-9A MUX/MALE is formally unveiled during a ceremony for Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU-3), Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Aug 2, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU 3) introduced its new Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in a ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, last week.
The Marine Corps UAV squadron, the only one of its kind in the Indo-Pacific,...
https://news.usni.org/2023/08/08/first-marine-corps-mq-9a-reaper-squadron-now-operational
Guided-missile destroyer Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. (DDG-124) in dry dock at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in June 2023. BIW Photo
The Navy is now more than 80 ships short of the latest estimate of what the sea service thinks it needs to fulfill the Biden administration’s national security strategy.
The Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement, a congressionally-mandated report, requires 381 ships, up from 373 in the 2022 report, the first year it was released. As of Monday, the Navy’s battle...
Gen. David H. Berger speaks during his relinquishment of command ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., July 10, 2023. DoD Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The leader of one of the most controversial eras of the Marine Corps retired on Monday as he relinquished command of the service to the first acting commandant in more than a century.
Gen. David Berger retired after 42 years in the Marine Corps and commandant of the Marine Corps Monday at the Marine Corps Barracks just steps from the house he...
Marines and recruits on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., practice close-order drill on July 05, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo
WASHINGTON, DC – When Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger laid out his vision for the Marine Corps, it included a fundamental manpower shift.
Instead of the service’s generations-old train-and-replace model that relied on young Marines who signed on for a single four-year enlistment, the commandant of the Marine Corps shifted its priorities to emphasize...
The following is the June 30, 2023 Congressional Research Service report, U.S. Marine Corps Force Design 2030 Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress.
From the report
On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) announced a major force design initiative referred to as “Force Design 2030.” As part of this initiative, intended to occur over the next 10 years, the Marine Corps would redesign the service for naval expeditionary warfare and to better align itself with the National Defense...
https://news.usni.org/2023/07/03/report-to-congress-on-marine-corps-force-design-2030
Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo
The Marine Corps’ top officer told a Senate panel that he put a $1.75 billion warship on the top of his unfunded priorities list to show there’s no path to expand the U.S. amphibious ship inventory.
Speaking before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee on Tuesday, Commandant Gen. David Berger said he saw a net reduction in the amphibious ship force because of the retirement of three older landing ship...
The hull of the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8) at Ingalls Shipbuilding on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro named a future landing helicopter assault ship after the first and second Battle of Fallujah, the Navy announced Tuesday.
LHA-9, an America-class amphibious assault ship, will be called USS Fallujah, the Navy said in a news release. Del Toro announced the name at a promotion ceremony for Private 1st Class Chesty, the Marine Corps bulldog mascot.
“The name...
https://news.usni.org/2022/12/13/secnav-names-next-big-deck-amphib-uss-fallujah
The following is the U.S. Marine Corps 247th birthday message from Commandant Gen. David Berger and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black.
https://news.usni.org/2022/11/10/video-2022-marine-corps-birthday-message
11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) celebrates the Marine Corps 246th birthday on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) on Nov. 10, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Marine Corps hit retention goals early for the first time in 10 years, the service announced last week.
Over the past nine years, the Marine Corps reached approximately 97.2 percent of its retention goal. However, for Fiscal Year 2022, the service already hit 101.1 percent of its goal, said Yvonne Carlock on behalf...
https://news.usni.org/2022/07/20/marine-corps-exceed-retention-goals-early-hit-more-than-100-percent