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102 USMC Mission and Organization<br />

<strong>Marine</strong> Forces (MARFOR)<br />

The “Forces for Unified Commands” memorandum assigns <strong>Marine</strong> Corps<br />

operating forces to each of the combatant commands. A force assigned or<br />

attached to a combatant command may be transferred from that command only as<br />

directed by the Secretary of Defense and under procedures prescribed by the<br />

Secretary of Defense and approved by the President. The <strong>Marine</strong> Corps has<br />

established multiple <strong>Marine</strong> Corps component headquarters to support the unified<br />

commands.<br />

<strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces are organized as MAGTFs and are either employed as part<br />

of naval expeditionary forces or separately as part of larger joint or combined<br />

forces.<br />

The commanders of <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM), <strong>Marine</strong><br />

Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC), <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Europe<br />

(MARFOREUR), <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Central (MARCENT), serve as <strong>Marine</strong><br />

Corps component commanders to their respective combatant commanders and<br />

provide forces for service with Commander US Joint Forces Command, US<br />

Pacific Command, US European Command, and US Central Command<br />

respectively. The <strong>Marine</strong> Corps component commander deals directly with the<br />

joint force commander (JFC) in matters affecting assigned MARFOR. He<br />

commands, trains, equips, and sustains MARFOR.<br />

The Commander, <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Command, is assigned to the Commander<br />

U.S. Joint Forces Command, and the Commander, <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces, Pacific,<br />

is assigned to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command. In order to provide threestar,<br />

general officer representation to the remaining three geographic combatant<br />

commands, Commander, <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Command<br />

(COMMARFORCOM), is designated as the <strong>Marine</strong> Corps component<br />

commander to both Commander, U.S. European Command (COMUSEUCOM),<br />

and Commander, U.S. Southern Command (COMUSSOUTHCOM). The<br />

Commander, <strong>Marine</strong> Corps Forces Central, is designated as the <strong>Marine</strong> Corps<br />

component commander to the Commander, U.S. Central Command<br />

(COMUSCENTCOM).<br />

The Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 added a new level of<br />

commander-in-chief (CINC) to the U.S. military's chain of command. Regional<br />

CINCs were created in order to have a local supreme commander who could<br />

exercise unified command and control across service boundaries, ideally<br />

eliminating or diminishing interservice rivalries. CINCs reported directly to the<br />

United States Secretary of Defense, and through him to the President of the<br />

United States. The best-known CINC was probably Norman Schwarzkopf, CINC<br />

of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) during Operation Desert Storm.<br />

102-4

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