Karsten Heckl

Karsten Selby Heckl (born September 2, 1964) is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who last served as the deputy commandant for combat development and integration and commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, from 2021 to 2024.^[2][3][4] Heckl previously served as the commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force. He previously served as commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.^[5][6][7][8]

Karsten Heckl
Birth name	Karsten Selby Heckl
Nickname(s)	Hazel[1]
Born	Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1988–2024
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Marine Corps Combat Development Command I Marine Expeditionary Force 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing MAWTS-1 VMM-162
Battles / wars	War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal (2)
Alma mater	Georgia State University (BA)

On 30 October 2023, Heckl was made acting Commandant of the United States Marine Corps when Commandant Eric Smith was hospitalized, until he was relieved of his duties as acting Commandant when General Christopher J. Mahoney was sworn in as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps on 3 November 2023.^[9][10]

Biography

A native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Lieutenant General Heckl graduated from Georgia State University and was commissioned in April 1988. He was designated an unrestricted Naval Aviator in September 1990. He is also a distinguished graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) and the Naval War College.^[4]

As a CH-46E pilot, Lieutenant General Heckl deployed with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 365 and HMM-263, and served as a CH-46E Instructor and Division Head at MAWTS-1, MCAS Yuma, Arizona. Additionally, he was assigned as one of the initial cadre of pilots with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 (VMMT-204).^[4]

Staff assignments include CH-46E and MV-22 Requirements Officer, Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Aviation Department, Washington DC; J3 Director of Operations, United States Forces - Afghanistan (USFOR-A), Kabul, Afghanistan; Senior Military Assistant and Marine Aide to the Secretary of the Navy; Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation, HQMC Aviation Department, Washington DC; Chief of Staff, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), Lisbon, Portugal.^[4]

Lieutenant General Heckl commanded Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162, which included a combat tour in Iraq in 2008 and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) in 2010. From June 2018 to July 2020 he served as the Commanding General, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, and subsequently assumed command of I Marine Expeditionary Force through September 2021.^[4] In August 2021 he was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and appointment as Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration of the Marine Corps, and Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command.^[3] He took office in October 2021.^[11]

While serving as Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, he also became the acting Commandant of the United States Marine Corps on 30 October 2023 after General Eric Smith experienced a heart attack. This was because the nominee to be the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Christopher J. Mahoney, had not been confirmed due to a hold on all military nominations by Senator Tommy Tuberville, and Heckl was the next in line.^[9][12] Mahoney was sworn in as assistant commandant on 3 November 2023 and assumed the role of acting commandant from Heckl.^[10][13]

Heckl also had a leading role in implementing Force Design 2030, which was still in an early stage when he took office in 2021, throughout the Marine Corps, for which he worked with industry and the Department of the Navy. On 9 August 2024 he relinquished command of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and the office of deputy commandant for combat development and integration to Lieutenant General Eric E. Austin, after which he retired from the military.^[11]