The 36th commandant's first order to the Marine Corps as he took command was a simple one: Continue to march.
Gen. Joe Dunford, 58, became commandant of the Marine Corps here Friday morning with his family and an array of VIPs in attendance, ranging from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to U.S. ambassadors and Gen. John Kelly, head of U.S. Southern Command and one of Dunford's closest friends. Dunford's wife, Ellyn, and his children, Joseph Jr., Patrick, and Kathleen looked on from a place of honor in the stands.
Surveying the assembled guests, Dunford kept his remarks very brief, thanking his parents in attendance.
"I'm a Marine because of my dad," he said. "And I attribute any discipline I might have to the drill instructor in our family, my mother."
Acknowledging his previous joint post as commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, Dunford said he had taken the past weeks to "re-green" and reacquaint himself with the Marine Corps' current posture and the challenges it faced.
"Every single engagement I have had has reinforced my assessment that the Corps is in great shape," he said. "We're recruiting and retaining high quality Marines; we're providing relevant capabilities to the combatant commanders. Marines today find themselves in every clime and place doing what must be done and they're delivering … Today I'm not so much proud to be the commandant as I am to wear the cloth."
Dunford closed his address simply, saying he was humbled to command the Corps.
"My focus in the coming years will be to take care of our Marines and their families and to ensure that our Corps remains the expeditionary force in readiness that our nation has come to expect," he said. "God bless you all, Semper Fidelis, and for those still in uniform, continue to march."
Hagel spoke highly of Dunford's accomplishments.
"He is a highly respected, battle-tested infantry officer," Hagel said, praising his work to keep combat drawdown efforts on track in Afghanistan. "I've gotten to know General Dunford very well over the last 20 months. I've come to rely on his wise judgment. The president of the United States trusts his judgment."
Dunford received the the Marine Corps flag in a formal passage of command ceremony from Gen. Jim Amos, 67, who will be entering retirement Nov. 30 after a 44-year career in the Navy and Marine Corps, having been the first Marine aviator to serve as commandant.
Amos received Distinguished Service Medals from Hagel and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, both of whom stood at attention as his retirement orders were read. Bonnie Amos, his wife, also received a Distinguished Service Medal in honor of her work on behalf of Marines and their families over the entirety of her husband's career.
In letters read aloud, both secretaries praised Amos' accomplishments during his four-year tenure as commandant, from standing up Marine crisis response task forces in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, to leading the Marine Corps through the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," and the beginning of integrating women into combat roles.
Hagel said the successful implementation of these social changes would mark Amos' place in Marine Corps history.
"Jim's lasting legacy will be his effort to ensure the Marine Corps' new traditions are firmly rooted, leaving behind a Corps stronger than ever before," he said.
Amos led the Marine Corps through across-the-board spending cuts that threatened the size of the service, Mabus said. The Corps will drawdown to 182,000, and will be the only U.S. service branch larger in the days ahead than it was when the 2001 World Trade Center attacks took place. Mabus credited that to Amos' strong leadership throughout the fiscal challenges.
When Amos became commandant in 2010, he'd said he was "about to jump out of [his] skin" with enthusiasm to assume the post. Saying farewell, he was just as enthusiastic.
"People had talked to me about making that comment," he said. "And I looked back and the truth of that matter is, that's exactly how I felt. And that's exactly how the last four years have gone."
Amos said he spent his final day full day as commandant on Oct. 16 meeting with the Marines stationed at 8th and I and hosting some 90 general officers and their wives to thank them for their service.
"Today is about gratitude," he said.
Ending a commandancy filled with challenges and some controversy, Amos and his wife joined their four grandchildren on the Marine Barracks Washington parade deck, waving their farewells as a guitarist with the President's Own Marine Band played a rendition of "Carolina on my Mind."
They then drove away from the Barracks in the vehicle Amos had when his Marine Corps career began: a vintage 1972 Volkswagen Beetle convertible.
