United States Marine Corps Forces, Pacific

Not to be confused with Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.

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.

Marine Forces Pacific
MARFORPAC insignia
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 James F. Glynn
Deputy Commander	MajGen Daniel L. Shipley
Sergeant Major	SgtMaj Eric D. Cook

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).

History

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]

Mission

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]

Organization

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]

List of commanders

No.	Commander		Term			Ref
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
Commander MARFORPAC / Commander MARCENT / Commanding General FMFPAC
1		Stackpole, Hank C.Lieutenant General Hank Stackpole (1935–2020)	8 July 1992	22 July 1994	2 years, 14 days	[7][8]
2		Krulak, Charles C.Lieutenant General Charles Krulak (born 1942)	22 July 1994	15 June 1995	342 days	[9]
3		Howell, Jefferson D.Lieutenant General Jefferson D. Howell	29 September 1995 Acting: 15 June 1995	7 May 1998	2 years, 220 days	[10][11]
4		Fulford, Carlton W.Lieutenant General Carlton W. Fulford Jr. (born 1944)	7 May 1998	22 June 1999	1 year, 46 days	[12]
5		Libutti, FrankLieutenant General Frank Libutti (born 1945)	22 June 1999	16 August 2001	2 years, 55 days	[13]
6		Hailston, Earl B.Lieutenant General Earl B. Hailston (born 1947)	16 August 2001	1 August 2003	1 year, 350 days	[14]
7		Gregson, Wallace C.Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson (born 1946)	1 August 2003	5 August 2005	2 years, 4 days	[15][16]
Commander MARFORPAC / Commanding General FMFPAC
8		Goodman, John F.Lieutenant General John F. Goodman (born 1945)	5 August 2005	22 August 2008	3 years, 17 days	[17]
9		Stalder, Keith J.Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder	23 August 2008	2 September 2010	2 years, 10 days
10		Thiessen, Duane D.Lieutenant General Duane D. Thiessen (born 1951)	2 September 2010	2 August 2012	~1 year, 335 days	[18]
11		Robling, Terry G.Lieutenant General Terry G. Robling	2 August 2012	15 August 2014	2 years, 13 days	[18][19]
12		Toolan, John A.Lieutenant General John A. Toolan (born 1954)	15 August 2014	26 August 2016	2 years, 11 days	[20][21]
13		Berger, David H.Lieutenant General David H. Berger (born 1959)	26 August 2016	8 August 2018	1 year, 347 days	[22]
14		Craparotta, Lewis A.Lieutenant General Lewis A. Craparotta (born 1960)	8 August 2018	16 July 2020	1 year, 343 days
15		Rudder, Steven R.Lieutenant General Steven R. Rudder (born c. 1962)	16 July 2020	7 September 2022	2 years, 53 days
16		Jurney, WilliamLieutenant General William M. Jurney	7 September 2022	12 September 2024	2 years, 5 days	[23]
17		Glynn, JamesLieutenant General James F. Glynn	12 September 2024	Incumbent	97 days	[24]

See also

• United States Indo-Pacific Command
• U.S. Marine Forces Central Command

Notes

1. MARINE CORPS FORCES PACIFIC. Marine Corps University. Published 15 September 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
2. HISTORY OF U.S. MARINE CORPS FORCES, PACIFIC. U.S Marines. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
3. US Marine Corps Forces Pacific. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
4. About – History. U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
5. What is MARFORPAC?. U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
6. Commandant's Planning Guidance. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
7. Stackpole assumes command. Hawaii Marine, Vol. 21, No. 26. Published 9 July 1992.
8. Lieutenant General H.C. Stackpole III. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
9. LtGen. Krulak assumes command of MarForPac. Hawaii Marine, Vol. 22, No. 30. Published 28 July 1994.
10. Okinawa receives LtGen. Howell, Jr. Hawaii Marine, Vol 23. No. 44. Published 16 November 1995.
11. Evening parade Honors Assistant Commandant bids Aloha to Commander Marine Forces Pacific. Hawaii Marine, Vol. 23, No. 21. Published 15 June 1995
12. Change of command. Hawaii Marine, Vol. 27, No. 17. Published 7 May 1998.
13. Lt. General Frank Libutti, USMC (Ret.). Flagofficers.us. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
14. MarForPac changes command. Hawaii Marine, Vo. 30, No. 32. Published 16 August 2001.
15. Force leadership change. Hawaii Marine, Vol. 32. No. 30. Published 1 August 2003.
16. Allen, David (16 May 2003). Bush taps Gregson for top Pacific Marine slot. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
17. Marion, Brian A. (22 August 2008). Goodman relinquishes command of MARFORPAC. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
18. Robling tapped to lead Marine forces in Pacific. Stars and Stripes. Published 18 April 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
19. Karstan, Kristian (7 August 2012). USMC Lt. Gen. Thiessen Retirement/MARFORPAC COC. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
20. Anderson, Sarah (15 August 2014). "MARFORPAC bids farewell to Robling, welcomes Toolan". DVIDS. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
21. "MARINE CORPS BASE KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii - Sgt. Maj. Paul G. McKenna, the sergeant major of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, marches with the colors during a change of command ceremony at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Aug. 26, 2016. During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. John A. Toolan relinquished command of MARFORPAC to Lt. Gen. David H. Berger". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. 26 August 2016.
22. Werner, Ben (10 August 2018). "Lt. Gen. Lewis Craparotta Relieves Lt. Gen. David Berger As MARFORPAC Commander". USNI News. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
23. Little, Chuck (2022-09-07). "U.S Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Change of Command". DVIDS. U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
24. "Webcast: MARFORPAC Change of Command Ceremony". DVIDS. Retrieved 2024-09-08.

External links

• "Marine Forces Pacific website". Retrieved 2010-03-28.