How the Strong Commandant System Caught Up with the Marine Corps
Gary Anderson
Thu, August 3, 2023 at 9:18 PM EDT·7 min read
90
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
Forty years ago, I was the speech writer for the commandant of the Marine Corps. One of my additional duties was to write speeches when a retired commandant came on active duty to stand in for the current commandant when he could not attend a big event. I would also be tapped as the traveling aide for the former commandant.
One day, I was escorting Gen. Leonard Chapman, who had been the 24th commandant. On our flight to the speech site, I had the temerity to ask a question. I had always been fascinated that -- unlike the other service chiefs, each of whom had a variety of competing constituencies -- the commandant of the Marine Corps had virtually unlimited power over the Corps, matched only by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. I asked him why he thought that had come about.
https://news.yahoo.com/strong-commandant-system-caught-marine-011810009.html
