United States Marine Corps Forces Command

It was established on 13 July 1992 as Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic (MARFORLANT), and was renamed Marine Corps Forces Command on 30 December 2004. Between 1994 and 1997 its headquarters was briefly moved to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before returning to Norfolk. The commander of Marine Forces Atlantic (since 2004 the Marine Corps Forces Command) is also simultaneously the commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (FMFLANT).^[1]

During the 1990s, Marine Forces Atlantic was one of the two active field commands of the Marine Corps, along with the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC). The Commander of MARFORLANT (and later MARFORCOM) was also simultaneously the Commander-designate of Marine Corps Forces Europe (MARFOREUR) and Marine Corps Forces South (MARFORSOUTH), while the Commander of MARFORPAC was the Commander-designate for Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MARCENT) and Marine Corps Forces Korea (MARFORK).^[2] The "designate" commands had a minimal staff during peacetime that would be activated and become part of a larger component command in the event of a war.^[3]

In 2015, both Marine Forces Europe/Africa and Marine Forces South became fully independent headquarters with dedicated commanders.^[4][5]

In 2020, the responsibility for leading Marine Corps Forces Northern Command (MARFORNORTH) was transferred to the commander of MARFORCOM, after previously being held by the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.^[6][7]

As COMMARFORCOM, commands Service retained-operational forces. As CG FMFLANT, commands Service retained-operational forces embarked aboard Naval shipping. As COMMARFORNORTH, advises the U.S. Northern Command on the usage of Marine Corps forces in homeland defense operations.

• Status and Command Relationships. MARFORCOM is a Service retained component headquarters with the following command relationships.
  • COMMARFORCOM reports to the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC).
  • COMMARFORCOM commands and exercises administrative control (ADCON) of the following subordinate commands:
    • II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF)
    • Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (HQSVCBN)
    • Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group (MCSCG)
    • Marine Corps Security Force Regiment (MCSFR)
    • Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (MCESG)
    • Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF)
    • Marine Corps Information Command (MARCOR INFOCOM). The commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command serves as the commanding general (CG) of MARCOR INFOCOM.

U.S. Armed Forces operations commands

• United States Army Forces Command
• United States Fleet Forces Command
• Air Combat Command
• Space Operations Command