Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

For the Royal Marines equivalent, see Corps Regimental Sergeant Major.

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Incumbent SgtMajMarCor Ronald L. Green since February 20, 2015
Formation	May 23, 1957
First holder	Wilbur Bestwick
Website	http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/smmc

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (officially abbreviated to SgtMajMarCor; unofficially as SMMC) is a billet, as well as a unique enlisted grade of rank, with a unique non-commissioned grade of rank insignia, in the United States Marine Corps.

History

In the U.S. Marine Corps, sergeant major is the ninth and highest enlisted rank, just above first sergeant, and equal in grade to master gunnery sergeant, although the two have different responsibilities. A sergeant major typically serves as the unit commander's senior enlisted adviser and to handle matters of discipline and morale among the enlisted Marines. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is chosen by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to serve as his adviser and is the preeminent and highest ranking enlisted Marine with a protocol equivalency of a lieutenant general.

Although not officially considered a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, when Archibald Sommers was appointed to the grade of Sergeant Major January 1, 1801, it was a solitary post, similar to the modern billet of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. In 1833, an act of legislation made the rank of sergeant major permanent for the Marine Corps and by 1899 five Marines held the rank of sergeant major. This continued until 1946, when the rank was abolished, only to be re-introduced in 1954 as part of the Marine Corps rank structure.

The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957 as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the first such post in any of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces. In 1970, the rank insignia of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was authorized (which features three stripes, the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor flanked by two five-point stars in the center, and four rockers) as opposed to the standard Sergeant Major rank insignia (which features three stripes, one five-point star in the center, and four rockers), which was used for the rank from the post's creation in 1957 to 1970. While "Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps" is the full wording of the rank, the verbal address for this is commonly Sergeant Major.

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and typically serves a four-year term, though his service is at the discretion of the Commandant. Since Sergeant Major Wilbur Bestwick was appointed the first Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps in 1957, 17 different Marines have filled this post.

On January 20, 2015, Commandant Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. announced that Sergeant Major Ronald L. Green would relieve Sergeant Major Micheal P. Barrett and serve as the 18th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on February 20, 2015.

Insignia

• SgtMajMC insignia timeline
• 

  1957–1970, became Sergeant Major

• 

  1970–present

Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps

#	Picture	Name	Tenure from	Tenure to
1		Bestwick Wilbur Bestwick	000000001957-05-23-0000May 23, 1957	000000001959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959
2		Rauber Francis D. Rauber	000000001959-09-01-0000September 1, 1959	000000001962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962
3		McHugh Thomas J. McHugh	000000001962-06-29-0000June 29, 1962	000000001965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965
4		Sweet Herbert J. Sweet	000000001965-07-17-0000July 17, 1965	000000001969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969
5		Dailey Joseph W. Dailey	000000001969-08-01-0000August 1, 1969	000000001973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973
6		Puckett Clinton A. Puckett	000000001973-02-01-0000February 1, 1973	000000001975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975
7		Black Henry H. Black	000000001975-06-01-0000June 1, 1975	000000001977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977
8		Massaro John R. Massaro	000000001977-04-01-0000April 1, 1977	000000001979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979
9		Crawford Leland D. Crawford	000000001979-08-16-0000August 16, 1979	000000001983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983
10		Cleary Robert E. Cleary	000000001983-06-28-0000June 28, 1983	000000001987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987
11		Sommers David W. Sommers	000000001987-06-27-0000June 27, 1987	000000001991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991
12		Overstreet Harold G. Overstreet	000000001991-06-28-0000June 28, 1991	000000001995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995
13		Lee Lewis G. Lee	000000001995-06-30-0000June 30, 1995	000000001999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999
14		McMichael Alford L. McMichael	000000001999-06-29-0000June 29, 1999	000000002003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003
15		Estrada John L. Estrada	000000002003-06-26-0000June 26, 2003	000000002007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007
16		Kent Carlton W. Kent	000000002007-04-25-0000April 25, 2007	000000002011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011
17		Barrett Micheal P. Barrett	000000002011-06-09-0000June 9, 2011	000000002015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015
18		Green Ronald L. Green	000000002015-02-20-0000February 20, 2015	Incumbent

Timeline

See also

• Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
• Senior Enlisted Advisor for the National Guard Bureau
• Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Sergeant Major of the Army

References

General

• "The Official Web Site of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2014-07-19. 

Specific

External links

• Media related to Sergeants Major of the United States Marine Corps at Wikimedia Commons