Current Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (official abbreviation is SgtMajMarCor1, sometimes informally abbreviated as SMMC or SgtMajMC) is a unique non-commissioned rank and billet in the United States Marine Corps. The holder of this rank and post is the senior enlisted member of the Marine Corps. This position is currently held by Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlton W. Kent.
Archibald Sommers was the U.S. Marine Corps' first Sergeant Major, appointed on January 1, 1801. This was originally a solitary post, similar to the modern Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, but by 1899 there were five Sergeants Major in the Marine Corps. The title was abolished in 1946, but re-introduced as a rank in 1954. The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957, as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.2
