No nominee to fill top Marine Corps information post after former pick assigned to different job

A general officer previously tapped to serve as the Marine Corps’ top information official will no longer be assuming that role and no new nominee has been selected to fill the post, according to a spokesperson.

In March 2023, the Department of Defense announced that Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage had been nominated to serve as the next deputy commandant for information. However, a release from the Marine Corps last month noted that after Heritage relinquished command of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command to Maj. Gen. Joseph Matos, he would be going on to serve as the director of operations, J-3, at U.S. Cyber Command.

Although the Senate confirmed him for his third star in December, a decision was made that Heritage would not take the deputy commandant job, but instead would go to Cybercom, the spokesperson said.

As a result, his appointment to lieutenant general was not effectuated, they added.

Moreover, President Joe Biden has not yet nominated someone else to fill the role of DCI. The Corps declined to offer any additional information about deliberations regarding who could be nominated.

At Cybercom, Heritage will take over the J-3 role from Army Maj. Gen. Ryan Janovic, who will be the next commander of the Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence, according to a March 4 DOD announcement.

An official familiar with the assignment process for general officers said Heritage’s appointment was affected by the blanket hold placed on nominees for senior positions last year by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville. For nearly 10 months, Tuberville held up confirmations for top DOD officials in protest of the department’s abortion policies. White House and Pentagon officials have slammed Tuberville for gumming up the military’s personnel system. Eventually, even Tuberville’s Republican colleagues chastised him for the hold and pleaded for him to release it.

In early December, Tuberville decided to lift his hold, effectively clearing the way for top generals and admirals to be confirmed and take over their new jobs.

Despite those officials finally getting cleared, some estimates note the hold could have lasting effects for years.

In Heritage’s case, the hold caused ripple effects on the timing of moves and open positions for general officers.

Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy is currently serving as the Marine Corps’ DCI, a post he has held since 2021. In this role, Glavy has overseen the service’s enshrinement of information into doctrine with the release of Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-8, Information, in 2022. MCDP-8 aims to describe the purpose and mechanics of using information as a warfighting tool for the entire service.

Earlier this year, the Corps released the next iteration of the document, “MCWP 8-10 Information in Marine Corps Operations.” Glavy previewed this document in early 2023, saying it was meant to be more of a cognitive discussion that breaks away from the lexicon into what information is and isn’t.