Deputy Commandant for Aviation

The Deputy Commandant for Aviation (DCA) is the United States Marine Corps' principal advisor on all aviation matters and is the spokesperson for Marine Corps Aviation programs, requirements, and strategy throughout the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense.^[1] DCA is normally the highest-ranking naval aviator in the Marine Corps and reports directly to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The role of DCA is an administrative position and has no operational command authority over United States Marine Corps Aviation forces.

Deputy Commandant For Aviation
DCA
Incumbent Lieutenant General Bradford Gering since 16 February 2024
Reports to	Commandant of the Marine Corps
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Appointer	Commandant of the Marine Corps
First holder	Alfred A. Cunningham
Deputy	Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation
Website

DCA tour lengths have varied over the years based on war time requirements and personnel turnover. For the last two decades, typical tour lengths have been approximately three years. The billet is normally held by a lieutenant general. DCA and Headquarters Marine Corps Aviation work out of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Commandant for Aviation is responsible for developing, integrating, and supervising plans, policies, and budgets for all aviation assets and aviation expeditionary enablers (aviation command and control, aviation-ground support, and unmanned aircraft systems) in support of Marine air ground task forces.^[1]

History

The Aviation Section, Headquarters Marine Corps was established in 1919. In charge initially was the Officer in Charge, Aviation. He was responsible to both the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Director of Naval Aviation for all Marine Corps related aviation matters. In 1920, Congress authorized Marine Corps Aviation to maintain a strength of approximately one-fifth the size of the Marine Corps. In 1936 the Aviation Section was renamed the Aviation Division and the billet was changed to the Director of Aviation.^[2] In 1962 the name was again changed to Deputy Chief of Staff (Air). The current moniker of Deputy Commandant for Aviation began in Jun 1998.^[3]

List of Deputy Commandants for Aviation

#	Picture	Name	Rank	Term			Notes
				Took office	Left office	Duration
1		CunninghamAlfred A. Cunningham[4]	O-04 Major	17 November 1919	12 December 1920	1 year, 25 days	Naval Aviator #5.[5] He was the first Marine Corps aviator.[6] World War I.
2		TurnerThomas C. Turner[7]	O-05 Lieutenant colonel	13 December 1920	2 March 1925	4 years, 79 days	Naval Aviator #772.[5] Distinguished Flying Cross; served in the Philippines, at Veracruz and in Haiti. During WWI, at the request of Hap Arnold, served as the OinC of flying at the Army's Ellington Field.[8]
3		BrainardEdwin H. Brainard[9]	O-04 Major	3 March 1925	9 May 1929	4 years, 67 days	Naval Aviator #2982. Recipient of the Navy Cross for his actions during the Champagne Offensive in October 1918 while serving as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment.[10] Obtained the Marine Corps' first cargo plane in 1927.[9]
4		TurnerThomas C. Turner[11]	O-06 Colonel	10 May 1929	28 October 1931	2 years, 171 days	See #2 above. The nine day gap between Col Turner and Maj Geiger was due to Col Turner being killed by a whirling propeller blade in Haiti on 28 October 1928.
5		GeigerRoy Geiger[4]	O-04 Major	6 November 1931	29 May 1935	3 years, 204 days	Naval Aviator #49.[5] Two time recipient of the Navy Cross. Served as the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing during the Battle of Guadalcanal[12] and Commanding General of the III Marine Amphibious Corps during the Battle of Okinawa. Also the only Marine to ever command a field army when he temporarily took command of the Tenth Army after the death of Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.[13]
6		RowellRoss E. Rowell[14]	O-06 Colonel	30 May 1935	10 March 1939	3 years, 284 days	Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross; Served in Nicaragua and flew at the Battle of Ocotal,[15] was Commanding General, Marine Aircraft Wings Pacific during World War II.
7		MitchellRalph J. Mitchell[4]	O-07Brigadier General	11 March 1939	29 March 1943	4 years, 18 days	Navy and Army Distinguished Service Medals; Distinguished Flying Cross from Nicaraguan Campaign.
8		GeigerRoy Geiger[16]	O-08 Major General	13 May 1943	15 October 1943	155 days	See #5 above.
9		WoodsLouis E. Woods[4]	O-07Brigadier General	15 October 1943	17 July 1944	276 days	Veteran Guadalcanal Campaign, veteran Okinawa Campaign, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; commanding general, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
10		HarrisField Harris[4]	O-08 Major General	18 July 1944	24 February 1948	3 years, 221 days	Graduate U.S. Naval Academy; Lieutenant general; Navy and Army Distinguished Service Medals
11		WallaceWilliam J. Wallace[4]	O-08 Major General	24 February 1948	1 September 1950	2 years, 189 days	Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Guadalcanal Campaign & Battle of Okinawa
12		JeromeClayton C. Jerome[4]	O-07Brigadier General	1 September 1950	1 April 1952	1 year, 213 days	Retired at Lieutenant General; Commanded both 1st and 2d MAW; veteran of Nicaraguan Campaign, Yangtze Patrol, Solomon Islands campaign, Bougainville campaign, Philippines campaign and the Korean War.
13		BriceWilliam O. Brice[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 April 1952	31 July 1955	3 years, 121 days	Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Veteran of World War II, having fought at Guadalcanal, and the Korea; also served as Commanding General of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.
14		SchiltChristian F. Schilt[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 August 1955	31 March 1957	1 year, 242 days	Medal of Honor; General; Veteran World War I, United States occupation of Haiti, United States occupation of Nicaragua, and World War II[17]
15		McCaulVerne J. McCaul[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 April 1957	2 December 1957	245 days	Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; Veteran World War II and Korean War.[18]
16		JackSamuel S. Jack[3]	O-08 Major General	14 January 1958	20 February 1958	37 days	Veteran Nicaraguan Campaign, World War II and Korean War; Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; Recipient of the Navy Cross
17		MunnJohn C. Munn[19]	O-08 Major General	21 February 1958	14 December 1959	1 year, 296 days	Silver Star; Guadalcanal Campaign & Battle of Okinawa; Korean War
18		BinneyAlbert F. Binney[3]	O-08 Major General	15 December 1959	10 September 1961	1 year, 269 days	Veteran World War II and Korean War; commanding general 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing; graduate U.S. Naval Academy in 1928;
19		McCutcheonKeith B. McCutcheon[3]	O-06 Colonel	11 September 1961	17 February 1962	159 days	General; Distinguished Flying Cross; Army Silver Star Medal; Commanding Officer Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1); commanding general, III Marine Amphibious Force; McCutcheon Field at MCAS New River, North Carolina is named in his honor.[20]
20		CarlMarion E. Carl[3]	O-06 Colonel	18 February 1962	4 July 1962	136 days	Twice awarded the Navy Cross; Battle of Midway & Guadalcanal Campaign; Vietnam War[21]
21		AndersonNorman J. Anderson[3]	O-07Brigadier General	5 July 1962	20 October 1963	1 year, 107 days	Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Distinguished Flying Cross with three gold stars; Air Medal with two silver stars; graduate UCLA
22		RobertshawLouis B. Robertshaw[22]	O-08 Major General	21 October 1963	15 June 1966	2 years, 237 days	Graduate U.S. Naval Academy; captain of the 1935 Naval Academy football team; Inspector General of the Marine Corps[22]
23		McCutcheonKeith B. McCutcheon[3]	O-08 Major General	15 June 1966	18 February 1970	3 years, 248 days	See #19 above.
24		HillHomer S. Hill[3]	O-08 Major General	19 February 1970	24 August 1972	2 years, 187 days	See #19 above.
25		FrisEdward S. Fris[3]	O-08 Major General	25 August 1972	27 August 1974	2 years, 2 days	Lieutenant general; Veteran of World War II and Vietnam War; pioneer in the development of today's Marine Air Command and Control System (MACCS).
26		ShutlerPhilip D. Shutler[3]	O-07Brigadier General	28 August 1974	19 January 1975	144 days	Lieutenant general; Veteran of Korean War and Vietnam War.
27		ArmstrongVictor A. Armstrong[3]	O-08 Major General	20 January 1975	21 August 1975	213 days	Lieutenant general; Veteran World War II; Korean War, and Vietnam War; Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and 2 gold stars; Distinguished Flying Cross with gold star
28		MillerThomas H. Miller Jr.[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	22 August 1975	29 June 1979	3 years, 311 days	First American to fly the Hawker Siddeley Harrier.[23]
29		WhiteWilliam J. White[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 July 1979	30 June 1982	2 years, 364 days	Veteran Korean War, and Vietnam War; Legion of Merit with Combat "V"; Distinguished Flying Cross
30		FitchWilliam H. Fitch[24]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 July 1982	31 August 1984	2 years, 61 days	Lieutenant general; Silver Star Medal
31		SmithKeith A. Smith[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 September 1984	29 April 1988	3 years, 241 days	Lieutenant general; Distinguished Flying Cross
32		PitmanCharles H. Pitman[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 July 1995	30 June 1999	3 years, 364 days	Lieutenant general; Silver Star Medal
33		WillsDuane A. Wills[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	17 August 1990	30 June 1993	2 years, 317 days	Lieutenant general; Veteran Vietnam War; Distinguished Flying Cross; lettered in football at UCLA;
34		HearneyRichard D. Hearney[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	1 July 1993	14 July 1994	1 year, 13 days	Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; General; Served in the Vietnam War and Gulf War; Navy Distinguished Service Medal
35		BlotHarold W. Blot[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	15 July 1994	21 July 1996	2 years, 6 days
36		DakeTerrence R. Dake[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	22 July 1996	28 June 1998	1 year, 341 days
37		McCorkleFrederick McCorkle[25]	O-09 Lieutenant General	28 June 1998	2 August 2001	3 years, 35 days	Vietnam War
38		NylandWilliam L. Nyland[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	2 August 2001	10 September 2002	1 year, 39 days	Navy Distinguished Service Medal; Vietnam War[26]
39		HoughMichael A. Hough[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	3 October 2002	2 November 2005	3 years, 30 days
40		CastellawJohn G. Castellaw[3]	O-09 Lieutenant General	3 November 2005	10 March 2007	1 year, 127 days
41		TrautmanGeorge J. Trautman III[27]	O-09 Lieutenant General	5 July 2007	31 January 2011	3 years, 210 days
42		RoblingTerry G. Robling[28]	O-09 Lieutenant General	31 January 2011	10 March 2012	1 year, 39 days
43		SchmidleRobert E. Schmidle Jr.	O-09 Lieutenant General	31 January 2012	31 January 2014	1 year, 210 days
44		DavisJon M. Davis[29]	O-09 Lieutenant General	31 January 2014	31 July 2017	3 years, 26 days
45		RudderSteven R. Rudder	O-09 Lieutenant General	11 July 2017	16 July 2020	2 years, 360 days
46		WiseMark R. Wise	O-09 Lieutenant General	6 July 2020	27 July 2022	2 years, 21 days
47		CederholmMichael Cederholm	O-09 Lieutenant General	27 July 2022	16 February 2024	1 year, 204 days
48		GeringBradford Gering	O-09 Lieutenant General	16 February 2024	Incumbent	219 days

Timeline

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

1. "Marine Aviation". marines.mil. United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
2. Rottman 2002, pp. 384.
3. Kaufman 2012, pp. 315.
4. Sherrod 1952, pp. 433.
5. Kaufman 2012, pp. 314.
6. Mersky 1983, pp. 2.
7. Sherrod 1952, pp. 21.
8. Sherrod 1952, pp. 19–21.
9. Sherrod 1952, pp. 27.
10. "Edwin H. Brainard". www.valor.militarytimes.com. The Hall of Valor Project. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
11. Sherrod 1952, pp. 28.
12. Willock 1968, pp. 202–239.
13. Willock 1968, pp. 302–303.
14. "Ross Rowell". www.pioneersofflight.si.edu. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
15. Sherrod 1952, pp. 24–27.
16. Willock 1968, pp. 240.
17. "Schilt, Christian F." www.history.navy.mil. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
18. "Lieutenant General Verne James McCaul, USMC (Deceased)". www.usmcu.edu. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
19. John H. Hesterly (8 November 2010). "John Calvin Munn (1906–1986)". The Central Arkansas Library System – EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
20. "Keith B. McCutcheon". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
21. Goldstein, Richard (30 June 1998). "Maj. Gen. Marion E. Carl, 82, Marine Air Ace in World War II". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
22. "Lieutenant General Louis B. Robertshaw". www.usmcu.edu. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
23. "Thomas H. Miller". goefoundation.org. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
24. "William H. Fitch". veterantributes.org. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
25. "Frederick McCorkle, USMC (Retired)". www.tnaviationhof.org. Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
26. "William L. Nyland, USMC (Retired)". www.usmcu.edu. Marine Corps University. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
27. "LtGen George J. Trautman III USMC (ret.)". www.mcsf.com. Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
28. "Terry G. Robling". www.ksaintegration.com. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
29. "Lieutenant General Jon M. Davis". www.montgomerysummit.com. Macquarie. Retrieved 24 January 2020.

References

• Kaufman, Roxanne M. (2012). 1912-2012, 100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation: An Illustrated History. Department of the Navy. ISBN 978-0-160-89343-8.
• Mersky, Peter B. (1983). U.S. Marine Corps Aviation – 1912 to the Present. Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America. ISBN 0-933852-39-8.
• Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
• Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press.
• Willock, Roger (1968). Unaccustomed to Fear – A Biography of the Late General Roy S. Geiger. Marine Corps Association. ISBN 0-940328-05-4.