United States Marine Forces Central Command
# United States Marine Forces Central Command

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 AOR, which includes 20 countries and over 500 million people, features mountain ranges with elevations of more than 24,000 feet and desert areas below sea level and temperatures ranging from below freezing to 130 °F (54 °C). The Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and part of the Indian Ocean are included in this region. Three of the world's major religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam have their roots here. The region contains the major maritime trade routes which link the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Western Hemisphere. Petroleum products which fuel the economies of European and Asian allies pass through three maritime choke points in the region: the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab El Mandab.

COMUSMARCENT provides Marine Expeditionary Forces capable of conducting a wide range of operations, offering the command a responsive and unique set of capabilities. Marines embarked aboard U.S. Navy amphibious ships deploy regularly to the region, organized as Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTF). These forces provide a potent mix of capabilities that can project combat power rapidly to any location in the region. While afloat in the CENTCOM AOR, they serve as a visible deterrent force, train continuously, and participate in a wide range of engagement activities.

In addition to providing MAGTFs deployed aboard U.S. Navy ships, MARCENT has the proven capability to deploy MAGTFs to the CENTCOM AOR by air and marry-up with prepositioned equipment. This provides COMUSCENTCOM with a rapid response capability across the range of military operations. Though there have been Marines stationed at CENTCOM Headquarters since September 1982, MARCENT, as a service component command, did not come into existence until 1990, when Marine Corps forces were preparing for Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM in Southwest Asia. Beginning in 2001, under the command of Commander, Marine Corps Forces Pacific, MARCENT participated in multiple operations, including Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan and Pakistan, operations in the Central Asian States as well as the Horn of Africa, and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

On 3 August 2005, Headquarters Marine Corps designated MARCENT as a force headquarters, under the command of Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

## List of commanders

| No. | Commander | Commander | Term | Term | Term | Ref |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | Ref |
| - | | Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson (born 1946) | ???? | 3 August 2005 | ???? | - |
| - | | Lieutenant General John F. Sattler (born 1949) | 3 August 2005 | 14 August 2006 | 1 year, 11 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General James Mattis (born 1950) | 14 August 2006 | 5 November 2007 | 1 year, 83 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Samuel T. Helland (born 1947/1948) | 5 November 2007 | 16 October 2009 | 2 years, 348 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Joseph Dunford (born 1953) | 16 October 2009 | 19 October 2010 | 1 year, 3 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser (born 1955) | 19 October 2010 | 12 September 2012 | 1 year, 329 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Robert Neller (born 1953) | 12 September 2012 | 18 June 2014 | 1 year, 279 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. (born 1956/1957) | 18 June 2014 | 27 October 2015 | 1 year, 131 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General William D. Beydler | 27 October 2015 | 11 July 2018 | 2 years, 257 days | |
| - | | Lieutenant General Carl E. Mundy III (born 1960) | 11 July 2018 | October 2021 | ~3 years, 82 days | |
| - | | Major General Paul J. Rock | October 2021 | Incumbent | ~1 year, 141 days | |
