Longest-serving active duty Marine to retire after 42 years
“To say that I came in and saw so much progress for Marines, and especially female Marines, over my time … it hits me really hard.”
Drew F. Lawrence
Published Sep 25, 2025 10:20 AM EDT
Lt. Col. Rhonda C. Martin is the longest-serving active duty Marine and she is set to retire soon.
When Lt. Col. Rhonda C. Martin was 19 years old, she unintentionally walked into a Marine recruiting office on her way to join the Peace Corps.
More than four decades later, she is the longest-serving active duty Marine, according to a service press release last week, and is set to celebrate her retirement at the end of the month.
She began her 42-year career as an administrative specialist, going on to serve as a drill instructor — though women were not allowed to don the iconic campaign cover at the time — before earning a commission as an officer in 1996.
She deployed multiple times, including in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and throughout her career, she both witnessed and took part in the Corps’ institutional changes, especially as it slowly allowed women into more roles within the service.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/longest-serving-marine-retires/
