U.S. Marine Gen. Eric M. Smith, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, speaks to Marines from Marine Corps Recruiting Station Montgomery and Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion 23rd Marines at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, Feb. 10, 2023. (U.S. Marine Corps/Shannon Doherty)
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has tapped Gen. Eric Smith, currently the Marine Corps’ assistant commandant, to be the service’s next top officer, according to the Senate’s website tracking military nominations. If confirmed, Smith would succeed his current boss, Gen. David Berger, as the top Marine.
Berger’s tenure as commandant has been one filled with change and, at times, controversy as he sought to revamp training, recruitment, technology investments and unit compositions in an effort to prepare the service for the future fight, a project dubbed Force Design 2030. Since becoming the assistant commandant, or ACMC, around the same time that Berger became commandant, Smith has helped usher in the widespread changes associated with Berger’s plan and has often been one its most public advocates, second only to Berger himself.
Smith was formerly the service’s top requirements officer and has commanded III Marine Expeditionary Force, US Marine Corps Forces Southern Command and 1st Marine Division. Commissioned in 1987, Smith is an infantry officer by training, continuing a longstanding Marine Corps commandant tradition. Historically, nearly every Marine Corps chief has been in the infantry, with the one notable exception being Gen. James Amos, the 35th commandant and an aviator.
Smith has been seen as one of the most likely candidates to follow Berger. During a public event dedicated to former Defense Secretary Ash Carter earlier this month, Smith had an extended discussion with Bob Work, the former deputy secretary of defense and a retired Marine, about Force Design 2030 and a variety of other topics.
Right as the conversation was about to end, Work added “Let me just go on record to say I hope he’s the next commandant of the Marine Corps,” to audience applause. Following the remark, Work joked that Smith would “brace me up” as soon as they exit the stage.
For his part, Smith grinned but didn’t directly respond to Work’s comment.
Asked for further comment, Work told Breaking Defense as a “general rule” the assistant commandant is usually the “best prepared candidate for commandant,” but it’s “especially true in Eric’s case.”
“He is the ideal successor to make sure FD 2030 continues on course. Eric is well regarded inside DoD. He knows all the players. I also think he is well regarded on the Hill,” Work said. “He is a proven leader at every level… He is also a remarkable human being. He will be a superb commandant.”
The Washington Post first reported Smith’s nomination.
Berger was reportedly a top candidate to succeed Army Gen. Mark Milley as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but the White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden has selected Air Force Gen. CQ Brown to become the nation’s top military officer. That announcement solidifies Berger’s retirement later this summer alongside Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, who is also due to retire in the coming months.
The White House has not yet announced a new chief of naval operations, though Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo are widely viewed as the most likely candidates.
Sydney Freedberg contributed reporting to this story.