United States Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa

The Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa (abbreviated as MARFOREUR/AF), headquartered in Panzer Kaserne-Barracks in Böblingen, Germany, is the U.S. Marine Corps component of the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.

U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa
Active	February 1980 – present (as Fleet Marine Force Europe)
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Marine Corps
Type	Service component
Role	Headquarters element
Size	1,500+
Part of	United States European Command
Garrison/HQ	Panzer Kaserne, Böblingen, Germany
Commanders
Current commander	MajGen Robert Sofge
Notable commanders	Stephen M. Neary Russell A. Sanborn John M. Paxton Jr. Paul W. Brier
Insignia
Seal of Marine Corps Forces Africa

History

In February 1980 the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Chief of Naval Operations revised the operational task sharing between the two branches in a memorandum. Hitherto the USMC had a supporting role within United States Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR). When that agreement came into effect on July 1, 1980, Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force Europe, the predecessor of the present unit, was founded in London including an independent 40-person staff as a Designed Component Command, to act as a Command Unit for further formations to be put under EUCOM-Command in case of a crisis situation. That staff immediately began preparing operation plans for optimal replenishment and deployment when required. FMF Europe arranged Marine support for Operation Provide Comfort, Operation Provide Promise, and Operation Deny Flight. To meet increasing challenges better, headquarters were transferred to Böblingen near Stuttgart on November 8, 1993. In February 1994 the headquarters was renamed MARFOREUR.

MARFOREUR is now dual-hatted with Marine Corps Forces Africa as Marine Corps Forces Europe / Africa, since November 2008.^[1]

Organization

Vehicles and equipment being offloaded in 2014 as part of the modernization of the US Marine Corps materiel stored in Norway

Currently, MARFOREUR/AF has a manning level of more than 1,500 Marines, of which about 100 serve at headquarters in Böblingen.^[2]

MARFOREUR/AF serves as a headquarters and liaison organization for USMC efforts in the EUCOM area of responsibility. In normal circumstances Marine elements in the theater are few – routinely, the Marine Expeditionary Unit attached to United States Sixth Fleet, and possibly other small units and detachments. Yet the HQ makes it possible to call upon forces from II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. This force comprises the 2nd Marine Division, the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, and the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, formerly known as the 2nd Force Service Support Group.

II MEF would also supply forces for the Norway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade (NALMEB).^[3] NALMEB is a remnant NATO Cold War reinforcement organization, and would have come under command of Allied Forces Northern Europe. Significant equipment storage for a MEB is located in northern Norway under the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway,^[4] and administered in the contiguous United States by Blount Island Command. The Norwegian Government has integrated the presence of a MEB into its defense planning.

Yet the tasking is now more theoretical than real, as the last confirmed deployment was Exercise Battle Griffin in 1991, in which the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, made up from USMCR reserve units due to Operation Desert Storm, made the first test of the concept. The exercise was conducted in February and March 1991 and the Brigade was made up of the 25th Marines regimental headquarters, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (infantry), Company E, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, and 1st Battalion, 14th Marines (artillery).^[5]

In 2014 the USMC added heavy armored vehicles to NALMEB for the first time.^[6]

As of January 2017, a rotational force of about 330 (infantry) U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune, NC, are stationed in Trondheim, Norway on two six-month deployments. ^[7] Official MARFOREUR writings say that the Marine Rotational Force, Europe (MRF-E) comprises "an infantry company reinforced by enablers and a Marine Coordination Element. [Their] presence in Norway facilitates military exercises that support NATO and USEUCOM operational plans; increases interoperability with Allies and Partners; advances efforts for more naval integration; and enables recuperation of the Marine Corps' cold weather and mountain proficiencies."

List of commanders

No.	Commander		Term			Ref
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
Commanding General FMFEUR / II MEF / FMFLANT
1		Schwenk Adolph G.Lieutenant General Adolph G. Schwenk (1922–2004)	1 October 1980	1 July 1982	1 year, 273 days	[8]
2		Miller John H.Lieutenant General John H. Miller (born 1925)	1 July 1982	1 September 1984	2 years, 62 days	[9]
3		Gray, Alfred M.Lieutenant General Alfred M. Gray Jr. (born 1928)	1 September 1984	1 July 1987	2 years, 303 days	[10]
-		Comfort, Clayton L.Major General Clayton L. Comfort (1930–2004) Acting	1 July 1987	1 September 1987	62 days	[9]
4		Cook Ernest T.Lieutenant General Ernest T. Cook Jr. (1935–2000)	1 July 1987	1 July 1990	3 years, 0 days	[11][12]
5		Lieutenant General Carl E. Mundy Jr. (1935–2014)	1 July 1990	25 June 1991	359 days	[9]
Commander MARFOREUR / MARFORSOUTH / MARFORLANT / Commanding General FMFLANT / II MEF
6		Keys, William M.Lieutenant General William M. Keys (born 1937)	25 June 1991	1 September 1994	3 years, 68 days	[13]
7		Johnston, Robert B.Lieutenant General Robert B. Johnston (1937–2023)	1 September 1994	August 1995	334 days	[14]
8		Wilhelm, Charles E.Lieutenant General Charles E. Wilhelm (born 1941)	August 1995	23 November 1997	2 years, 114 days	[15]
Commander MARFOREUR / MARFORSOUTH / MARFORLANT / Commanding General FMFLANT
9		Pace, PeterLieutenant General Peter Pace (born 1945)	23 November 1997	8 September 2000	2 years, 290 days	[16]
10		Ayres, Raymond P.Lieutenant General Raymond P. Ayres (born 1944)	8 September 2000	15 August 2002	1 year, 341 days	[9]
11		Berndt, Martin R.Lieutenant General Martin R. Berndt (born 1941)	15 August 2002	15 August 2005	3 years, 0 days	[17]
Commander MARFOREUR / MARFORSOUTH / MARFORCOM / Commanding General FMFLANT
12		Blackman, Robert R. Jr.Lieutenant General Robert R. Blackman Jr. (born 1948)	15 August 2005	18 July 2007	1 year, 337 days	[18]
Commander MARFOREUR/AF
13		Wilson, Cornell A.Major General Cornell A. Wilson Jr.	18 July 2007	30 September 2008	1 year, 74 days	[19]
14		Garrett, Tracy L.Brigadier General Tracy L. Garrett	30 September 2008	10 September 2009	345 days	[20]
15		Brier, Paul W.Brigadier General Paul W. Brier	10 September 2009	17 August 2010	341 days	[21]
Commander MARFOREUR/AF / MARFORSOUTH / MARFORCOM / Commanding General FMFLANT
16		Hejlik, DennisLieutenant General Dennis Hejlik	17 August 2010	20 July 2012	1 year, 338 days	[22]
17		Paxton, John M. Jr.Lieutenant General John M. Paxton Jr. (born 1951)	20 July 2012	13 December 2012	146 days	[23]
-		Crowe, W. BlakeBrigadier General W. Blake Crowe (born 1967) Acting	13 December 2012	28 June 2013	197 days
18		Tryon, Richard T.Lieutenant General Richard T. Tryon (born c. 1954)	28 June 2013	1 July 2014	1 year, 3 days	[24]
19		Neller, Robert B.Lieutenant General Robert B. Neller (born 1953)	1 July 2014	23 September 2015	1 year, 84 days	[25]
Commander MARFOREUR/AF
20		Nelson, Niel E.Major General Niel E. Nelson	23 September 2015	July 2017	1 year, 281 days	[25]
21		Sanborn, Russell A.Major General Russell A. Sanborn	July 2017	7 July 2019	2 years, 6 days	[26]
22		Hermesmann, PatrickMajor General Patrick Hermesmann	7 July 2019	July 2020	~360 days	[26]
23		Neary, Stephen M.Major General Stephen M. Neary	July 2020	20 October 2020	~111 days
24		Langley, MichaelMajor General Michael Langley (born 1961)	3 November 2020	6 May 2021	184 days
25		King, TracyMajor General Tracy W. King	6 May 2021	30 June 2023	2 years, 55 days
26		Sofge, RobertMajor General Robert Sofge	30 June 2023		1 year, 171 days

See also

• Black Sea Rotational Force
• Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Africa
• Cornell A. Wilson Jr.
• Operation Odyssey Dawn

References

1. "U.S. Africa Command Home". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
2. History of United States Marine Corps Forces, Europe
3. NALMEB on globalsecurity.org
4. Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway
5. Thomas D. Dinackus, Order of Battle: Allied Ground Forces of Operation Desert Storm, Hellgate Press, Central Point, Oregon, 2000, Chart 22-3, ISBN 1-55571-493-5
6. Trevithick, Joseph (16 August 2014). "The Pentagon Is Stuffing Caves in Norway Full of Tanks". medium.com. war-is-boring. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
7. "New Marine Rotation Arrives In Norway". Retrieved 6 September 2017.
8. Lieutenant General Adolph G. Schwenk. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
9. Former Commanders (archived). U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic. Published 25 June 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
10. Alfred M. Gray, Jr. (archived). Marine Corps History Division. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
11. Marine General Nominated. New York Times. Published 15 August 1987. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
12. LtGen Ernest T. Cook, Jr.. Military Hall of Honor. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
13. Lieutenant General William M. Keys. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
14. Lieutenant General Robert B. Johnston. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
15. General Charles E. Wilhelm. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
16. General Peter Pace. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
17. Finarelli, Linda (17 August 2011). Martin Berndt, Marine general and Springfield grad, dies at 63. The Reporter Online. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
18. Col. R.R. Blackman (archived). U.S. Marines. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
19. Official Biography for Cornell A. Wilson, Jr., Major General USMC Reserve (archived). U.S. Marines. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
20. MFE welcomes new Commander. Marine Corps Forces Europe. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
21. MARFOREUR, MARFORAF Welcome New Commander. Marine Corps Forces Europe. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
22. Commander of II MEF relinquishes command. U.S. Marines. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
23. McAdam, Scott (13 December 2012). "Paxton Relinquishes Command, MARFORCOM". DVIDS. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
24. "MARFORCOM change of command".
25. Beardsley, Steven (18 August 2015). Marines to place Europe-Africa command under 2-star in Germany. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
26. New Commander Takes the Reins at U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Published 7 July 2019.

External links

• Marine Forces Europe website
• MARFOREUR on globalsecurity.org