Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl is the interim acting commandant following Gen. Eric Smith's medical emergency Sunday evening. Gen. Eric Smith has a message for anyone who would attack the Marines in the Middle East: "If you target them, someone else will raise your children." The new commandant urged Marines to keep their high standards sacred and their “honor clean.” The Corps was the only branch other than the relatively small Space Force to hit its recruitment targets by Oct. 1. Unit commanders may allow the desert-colored camouflage combat utility uniform or the flame-resistant organizational gear, known as FROGs. Gen. Eric Smith took on the role Friday morning in a small ceremony at the Pentagon. After the Senate confirmed three joint chiefs, Democrats are strategizing how to confirm the hundreds of other military nominees held up by Tuberville. The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith to be the top Marine general, ending a monthslong limbo for the Marine Corps. The Senate is expected to fill three vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff — including the chairman post — after a surprise breakthrough Wednesday. Load More