Commandant General Royal Marines
| Office of the Commandant General Royal Marines | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Commandant General Royal Marines
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| Ministry of Defence | |
| Reports to | First Sea Lord |
| Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer |
Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the Queen-in-Council |
| Term length | 1-4 years |
| Inaugural holder | Major-General Sir James Campbell |
| Formation | 1825-current |
The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The Commandant General Royal Marines is responsible for advising the First Sea Lord, with professional responsibility for all Royal Marine units. He is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, whose rank is brigadier. This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, although the latter is a full general.
The professional head of the Royal Marines was the Deputy Adjutant-General from 1825 until 1914 when the post was re-designated the Adjutant-General: the post holder usually held the rank of full general. Since 1943 the professional head of the Royal Marines has been the Commandant-General who held the rank of full general until 1977, the rank of lieutenant general until 1996 and the rank of major-general since then.
The appointment has been held concurrently with that of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces (COMUKAMPHIBFOR) since the creation of the Fleet Battle Staff in 2001. COMUKAMPHIBFOR is one of two deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (the other being Commander UK Maritime Force (COMUKMARFOR), with particular responsibility for amphibious and littoral warfare. Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a combined joint task force and designed to support a single two star commander.
General Officers Commanding have included:
Deputy Adjutant General Royal Marines
Adjutant General Royal Marines
Commandant General Royal Marines
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Wikipedia