Marine Forces Pacific | |
---|---|
Founded | 31 July 1992 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Marine Corps |
Size | 84,000 Marines and sailors |
Part of | United States Indo-Pacific Command |
Garrison/HQ | Camp H. M. Smith |
Motto(s) | "In Any Clime and Place!" |
Colors | Marine Corps Colors |
Commanders | |
Commander | LtGen William M. Jurney |
Deputy Commander | BrigGen Daniel L. Shipley |
Sergeant Major | SgtMaj Eric D. Cook |
The U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC) is the Marine Corps service component command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. It is the largest field command in the Marine Corps and is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii. The MARFORPAC area of responsibility covers more than half of the Earth's surface.
It is composed of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) and the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). Each MEF comprises a command element (CE), a ground combat element (GCE) (1st and 3rd Marine Divisions), an aviation combat element (ACE) (1st and 3rd Marine Aircraft Wings), and a logistics combat element (LCE) (1st and 3rd Marine Logistics Groups).
Although the U.S. Marine Corps has had units stationed in the Pacific region since World War II, Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) was not established as a service component of Pacific Command until 31 July 1992. [1] The Commander, Marine Forces Pacific, is dual-hatted as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Pacific, a position that existed since 1944. General Holland Smith, the first commander of Fleet Marine Force Pacific, established its headquarters in the summer of 1944 to lead over 500,000 Marines in the theater that were subordinated to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. [2]
After its creation in 1992, MARFORPAC was initially one of only two Marine service component commands, along with Marine Corps Forces Atlantic. During the 1990s MARFORPAC commanded two-thirds of the combat units in the Marine Corps, totaling to over 80,000 Marines, and was responsible for providing forces to not only Pacific Command, but also to Central Command and the United States Forces Korea. Accordingly, the Commander of MARFORPAC was also the Commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MARCENT) from the 1990s until it became a completely separate headquarters in 2005. In 2002, then-commander of Marine Forces Pacific, Earl B. Hailston, temporarily moved from Hawaii to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf to oversee operations in the Middle East. The expansion of MARCENT during the War on Terror led to it being made a free standing headquarters under Central Command. Even after the removal of MARCENT from its area of responsibility, MARFORPAC remains the largest field command in the Marine Corps. [2] [3] A subordinate command for Marines in South Korea (Marine Corps Forces Korea or MARFORK) was also created in 1995, answering to MARFORPAC and U.S. Forces Korea. [4]
As the assigned service component to United States Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, Marine Forces Pacific is responsible for the support, planning, and provision of forces in the INDOPACOM AOR or elsewhere as required and may be designated as an executive agent for standing responsibilities or named operations. Longstanding missions for MARFORPAC include building partner capacity in support of regional cooperation and capacity-building efforts, as well as the defense of South Korea (via subordinate command MARFORK) and Japan. [5] Marine Forces Pacific also provided combat units to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. [3]
Marine Corps Forces Pacific consists of I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) and III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). According to the Commandant's Planning Guidance from 2019, I MEF will be designed to provide support to the U.S. Third Fleet while III MEF will provide support to the U.S. Seventh Fleet. [6] U.S. Marines in South Korea have their own subordinate command, Marine Corps Forces Korea, that also answers to MARFORPAC, though it has no combat units assigned to it. [4]
No. | Commander | Term | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
Commander MARFORPAC / Commander MARCENT / Commanding General FMFPAC | ||||||
1 | Hank Stackpole (1935–2020) | Lieutenant General31 July 1992 | 22 July 1994 | 1 year, 356 days | [7] [8] | |
2 | Charles Krulak (born 1942) | Lieutenant General22 July 1994 | 15 June 1995 | 342 days | [9] | |
3 | Jefferson D. Howell | Lieutenant General29 September 1995 Acting: 15 June 1995 | 7 May 1998 | 2 years, 220 days | [10] [11] | |
4 | Carlton W. Fulford Jr. (born 1944) | Lieutenant General7 May 1998 | 22 June 1999 | 1 year, 46 days | [12] | |
5 | Frank Libutti (born 1945) | Lieutenant General22 June 1999 | 16 August 2001 | 2 years, 55 days | [13] | |
6 | Earl B. Hailston (born 1947) | Lieutenant General16 August 2001 | 1 August 2003 | 1 year, 350 days | [14] | |
7 | Wallace C. Gregson (born 1946) | Lieutenant General1 August 2003 | 5 August 2005 | 2 years, 4 days | [15] [16] | |
Commander MARFORPAC / Commanding General FMFPAC | ||||||
8 | John F. Goodman (born 1945) | Lieutenant General5 August 2005 | 22 August 2008 | 3 years, 17 days | [17] | |
9 | Keith J. Stalder | Lieutenant General23 August 2008 | 2 September 2010 | 2 years, 10 days | ||
10 | Duane D. Thiessen (born 1951) | Lieutenant General2 September 2010 | 2 August 2012 | ~1 year, 335 days | [18] | |
11 | Terry G. Robling | Lieutenant General2 August 2012 | 15 August 2014 | 2 years, 13 days | [18] [19] | |
12 | John A. Toolan (born 1954) | Lieutenant General15 August 2014 | 26 August 2016 | 2 years, 11 days | [20] [21] | |
13 | David H. Berger (born 1959) | Lieutenant General26 August 2016 | 8 August 2018 | 1 year, 347 days | [22] | |
14 | Lewis A. Craparotta (born 1960) | Lieutenant General8 August 2018 | 16 July 2020 | 1 year, 343 days | ||
15 | Steven R. Rudder (born c. 1962) | Lieutenant General16 July 2020 | 7 September 2022 | 2 years, 53 days | ||
16 | William M. Jurney | Lieutenant General7 September 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year, 230 days | [23] |
III Marine Expeditionary Force is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) to amphibious assault and high-intensity combat.
The I Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
John F. Sattler is a retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant General and was the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also concurrently the United States' representative to the Military Staff Committee of the United Nations.
The II Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force consisting of ground, air and logistics forces capable of projecting offensive combat power ashore while sustaining itself in combat without external assistance for a period of 60 days. The II Marine Expeditionary Force is commanded by a lieutenant general, who serves under U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command, providing Marine fighting formations and units to European Command, Central Command and Southern Command. The current Commanding General is Lieutenant General David A. Ottignon. The Deputy Commanding General is Brigadier General Andrew T. Priddy and the Senior Enlisted Leader is Sergeant Major David A. Wilson.
In the United States Marine Corps, a Marine Air–Ground Task Force is the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air–ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that is structured to accomplish a specific mission. The MAGTF was formalized by the publishing of Marine Corps Order 3120.3 in December 1963, "The Marine Corps in the National Defense, MCDP 1-0". It stated:
A Marine air–ground task force with separate air ground headquarters is normally formed for combat operations and training exercises in which substantial combat forces of both Marine aviation and Marine ground units are included in the task organization of participating Marine forces.
The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine Forces provide the National Command Authority (NCA) with a responsive force that can conduct operations in any spectrum of conflict around the globe.
The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation under the command of the unified combatant commanders. The Marine Corps is organized into four principal subdivisions: Headquarters Marine Corps, the Operating Forces, the Supporting Establishment, and the Marine Forces Reserve.
The United States Marine Corps Forces Central Command is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command (COMUSMARCENT), is designated as the Marine Corps service component commander for Commander, U.S. Central Command (COMUSCENTCOM). MARCENT is responsible for all Marine Corps Forces in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR), except for those assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and Special Operations Command, Central Command (SOCCENT).
The Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (COMMARFORCOM), headquartered at the Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia, commands service retained-operating forces; executes force sourcing and synchronization to affect force generation actions in the provisioning of joint capable Marine Corps forces, and directs deployment planning and execution of service retained-operating forces in support of Combatant Commander (CCDR) and service requirements; serves as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic and commands embarked Marine Corps forces; coordinates Marine Corps-Navy integration of operational initiatives and advises CDR U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF) on support to Marine Corps forces assigned to naval ships, bases, and installations; conducts Service directed operational tasks as required. COMMARFORCOM is also the Commander, Marine Corps Forces Northern Command (MARFORNORTH), the Marine service component command of U.S. Northern Command.
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The Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT) is an American maritime landing force that is spread across the Atlantic Ocean. It is headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk and directs and commands all the subordinate elements of the Navy Expeditionary Strike Force and Marine Air-Ground Task Force components that follow under the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Fleet and the Marine Forces Command (MarForCom). The Commanding General of Marine Forces Command is dual-posted as the Commanding General of the Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. FMFLANT is under operational control of the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet Forces Command, when deployed.
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