Lt. Gen. Karsten S. Heckl Transfers Command of MCCDC

Lieutenant General Eric E. Austin took command of Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC), Aug 9, and will also serve as Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration (CD&I), relieving Lieutenant General Karsten S. Heckl.

Lieutenant General Heckl has held both positions since October 2021. Heckl took his position as the Marine Corps’ top requirements officer when Force Design was primarily conceptual. During his tenure, he was a driving force behind the implementation of Force Design across the Marine Corps, guiding the Service through often tough transitions and structure changes. Collaborating with the Department of the Navy and industry, he has led the charge in the development of amphibious warfare ship requirements and advocated for littoral maneuver options for the Marine Corps’ stand-in forces.

“What Lt. Gen. Heckl and his wife, Michelle, have done has been spectacular,” said Gen. Eric Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps, during the change of command ceremony. “He has taken the vision of Force Design and turned it into reality.”

Through Heckl’s steadfast leadership and dogged determination, the Marine Corps has seen rapid, unprecedented change. He has energized and empowered CD&I and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) to pursue creative solutions and advanced technologies to meet emerging global threats and to ensure the Marine Corps remains America’s premier crisis response force. Guiding new concepts, forging a Campaign of Learning and building on wargames, experimentation, analysis, and input from the Fleet Marine Force, Heckl has driven modernization, and rudder steered the Marine Corps back to its Naval roots.

“It has been the honor of my life to be here. In almost 37 years, I have never been disappointed. That’s how wonderful Marines are,” said Heckl, during the ceremony. “It is all about the people. Here, I stood at the front of a magnificent formation whose mission is noble, whose mission is good and whose mission is hard. And these people put their shoulder to the stone every day.”

Marine Corps Combat Development Command and CD&I’s new leader, Lt. Gen. Austin, comes to the command from Okinawa, Japan, where he served as the commanding general of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Austin earned his wings as a naval aviator in 1994 and was selected to fly the AV-8B Harrier. He has extensive operational and tactical experience in the AV-8B, including deployment as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit and combat experience from multiple deployments to Kuwait and Iraq. His prior command assignments include Marine Attack Squadron 211 and Marine Aircraft Group 14. He also served as deputy commander, U.S Marine Corps Forces Command and as director, Capabilities Development Directorate, CD&I.

“My intent is to continue to maintain the momentum,” said Austin, during the ceremony. “To continue to learn, adapt, change…and necessarily and responsibly continue to modernize our beloved Corps.”

MCCDC was created Nov. 10, 1987 with a central role of in developing concepts, plans, doctrine, training and equipment for the 21st Century. In 1995, MCCDC became home to MCWL with a mission to conduct experimentation in 21st century warfare. In 2005, the commanding general for MCCDC was dual hatted as the deputy commandant for CD&I, with MCWL and the Capabilities Development Directorate aligned under CD&I. Today, CD&I leads Marine Corps force development in collaboration with numerous stakeholders across Headquarters, Marine Corps, the Fleet Marine Force and the supporting establishment.

Published on August 8, 2024.