Gen. Eric Smith

VIDEO: CMC Gen. David Berger Retires, Gen. Eric Smith Takes Over Marine Corps

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...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/10/video-cmc-gen-david-berger-retires-gen-eric-smith-takes-over-marine-corps

Report to Congress on Marine Corps Force Design 2030

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

ACMC Smith: USMC Weighing Changes How it Recruits Marines in the Future

Marine Corps Senior Drill Instructor with Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, stands at attention before a motivational run at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego, May 4, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Marine Corps is on track to meet its recruiting and retention goals in Fiscal Year 2023. For the rest of the year, leaders are spending the year thinking about how they can keep it up for the next 50 years as the pool of recruits becomes smaller. 

To hit that...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/08/acmc-smith-usmc-weighing-changes-how-it-recruits-marines-in-the-future

Marine Corps Reenlistment Increased in One Year of Talent Management 2030

Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Broseke, a supply chain management specialist, with Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, reenlist into the Marine Corps at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 23, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

The Marine Corps increased the number of first-time reenlistment submissions for top-performing Marines by 72 percent as part of the Talent Management 2030 program, according to an update released Monday.

In addition to the increase in...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/06/marine-corps-reenlistment-increased-in-one-year-of-talent-management-2030

SECNAV Del Toro ‘Excited’ About New Landing Ship Mediums

ARLINGTON, Va. – Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the Navy and Marines have “got to get the right concept … and design” to move forward with the new Landing Ship Mediums – the vessels projected to augment larger amphibious vessels.

Investing in the new ships did not mean the Navy was pulling back its commitment to larger amphibious warships, Del Toro said Wednesday, speaking at the National Defense Industrial Association Expeditionary Warfare Conference.

There will “probably be more LPDs...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/22/secnav-del-toro-excited-about-new-landing-ship-mediums

Marine Corps Requirements Call for 9 Light Amphibious Ships per Regiment

SAN DIEGO – The Marine Corps’ latest requirements call for nine smaller amphibious ships per regiment to shuttle Marines and equipment between islands and shorelines, service officials said today.

The service has said for months that it needs 35 Landing Ship Mediums – previously known as the Light Amphibious Warship – for the type of operations it envisions in the Indo-Pacific region. The idea is that the three Marine Littoral Regiments operating in the Indo-Pacific would each have nine LSMs,...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/14/marine-corps-requirements-call-for-9-light-amphibious-ships-per-regiment

Marines Turning to Outside Experts for Fixes to Recruiting Challenge

Recruits with Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, learn and apply rappelling techniques on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., October 31, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Fifty years after the United States turned to the all-volunteer force, a group of Marines gathered to hear outside experts discuss how to man the force between now and 2040.

The Marine Corps, like the other branches, faces a competitive recruiting environment, which it is trying to overcome...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/25/marines-turning-to-outside-experts-for-fixes-to-recruiting-challenge

Marine Corps Exceed Retention Goals Early, Hit More Than 100 Percent

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

Marines Ready to Double Down on Pacific Presence, Says General

U.S. Marines with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, post security during a field training exercise at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, May 30, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo

The United States will not be moving its military presence from the Western Pacific any time soon due to Beijing’s “continued bad behavior” toward Taiwan and its bullying of immediate neighbors like Japan and South China Sea nations, the Marine Corps second in command said on Monday.

America needs to be...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/18/marines-ready-to-double-down-on-pacific-presence-says-general

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