Highly decorated Marine officer nominated to be next commandant

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has nominated a highly decorated Marine officer who’s been involved in the transformation of the force to be the next commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen. Eric Smith is now the assistant commandant and his nomination had been widely expected, The current top Marine is Gen. David Berger, and he’s wrapping up his four-year term. Smith is a career infantry officer who’s commanded at every level and served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He worked on a sweeping campaign to transform the Marine Corps to better be able to fight amphibious wars in the Pacific after years of battling terrorist groups in the Middle East.