The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Glenn M. Walters retired Thursday after 39 years of service to the Corps.
He is slated to become the 20th president of a military college in South Carolina called the Citadel, where he is an alumnus.
Walters will be replaced by Gen. Gary L. Thomas, the deputy commandant, programs and resources, and former commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Thomas picked up his fourth star during a promotion ceremony held at the historic Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
In a video posted by the Marine Corps, Walters said he was proud of his efforts to get the MV-22 tilt rotor Osprey program back on track and leading Marines in combat.
But, he said he was most proud of his work leading a Marine task force that arose in the wake of the nude photo sharing scandal known as Marines United and rocked the Corps in 2017.
Explicit and nude images of female Marines and other service members were posted to a secretive Facebook page called Marines United, often without the consent of the victims.
The Corps put together a task force spearheaded by Walters to help reshape the Corps’ culture and make the Corps a better working environment for all Marines.
A Cobra pilot by trade, Walters was also a former commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and commanded Marines in Afghanistan.
In 1987, he was deployed in support of a mission to protect Kuwaiti tankers from Iranian attacks, dubbed Operation Earnest Will.
Walters has been serving as the assistant commandant since Aug. 02, 2016.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
