For the rich history of the US Marine Corps, its leaders were constantly in a state of a kind of struggle with commanders from other types of national armed forces for the right to hold key posts in the highest management bodies. The parties constantly tried to "push elbows" standing in line for high-ranking positions of representatives of the American ground forces, air force and naval forces.
American marines have repeatedly demonstrated their courage during the Second World War, in conflicts on the Korean Peninsula and in Vietnam. Despite the limited budget, which is several times lower than the financing of the army, air force or navy, the marines played a crucial role in resolving issues of ensuring the US national interests. However, for decades, the smallest type of US forces was considered only as an appendage of the naval forces to build up forces in the overseas territories.
And only now there has been a clear trend towards the appointment to the top leadership posts of the US administration of representatives of the marines. Retired General James Mattis, nicknamed “Mad Dog” during his service in the Marine Corps, is headed by the Pentagon, General Joseph Dunford leads the US Chief of Staff (analogous to the Russian General Staff of the Armed Forces), retired General John Kelly . The list can be continued by noting the commander of the African command of the general of the marines Thomas Wailhauser and preparing to assume the post of commander of the central command (the most belligerent in charge of the Middle East region, North Africa and Central Asia) also came from the marines of General Kenneth Mackenzie.
The expansion of the marines to the highest US authorities continues. Recently, the head of the Pentagon appointed General George Smith of the Marine Corps as his main military adviser. Prior to receiving the new position, George Smith served as chief of staff of the committee of chiefs of staff of the US Armed Forces - the main working body of the American command.
It would not be superfluous to mention the General of the Marine Corps John Allen, after his dismissal from active military service, who headed one of the leading American political science centers - the non-governmental organization Brugingsky located in Washington, a kind of forge of personnel for ministries and departments of the United States.
Among the reasons that influenced the seemingly rapid growth of the influence of generals of the marines and their access to key positions in the military-political leadership of the United States can be called a significant involvement of marines in operations outside the United States, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York. The successes of the Marine Corps units in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially special-purpose formations, made it possible to speak of this type of armed forces as the most mobile and ready in the shortest possible time military operations in the overseas territories.
It is the active and mostly successful use of units of the marines in operations against the formations of international terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaida or the Islamic State since the beginning of the two thousand years and has ensured the promotion of military commanders in key posts in the United States military organization, and subsequently, the appointment of individual generals to key posts in the administration of the American president.
However, a similar increase in the influence of immigrants from the Marine Corps could have ended when the New-York Times recently reported that Pentagon chief James Mattis and head of the administration of US President John Kelly allegedly lose Donald Trump’s confidence because of their disagreement with a number of issues. ensuring national security, in particular, for conducting military operations in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Syrian Arab Republic. In the current situation, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis was forced to say through the media that such rumors were not true and, as the head of the military department, he supported the military-political course conducted by Donald Trump.
Perhaps, after calming down this information storm, the strengthening of the positions of the generals of the marines in the highest authorities will continue.
