FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Maryland –
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage relinquished his duties as Commander of the Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and Marine Corps Forces Space Command, and Marine Corps Information Command to Maj. Gen. Joseph A Matos III, during a change of command ceremony at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, March 22, 2023.
Heritage served as the Commander since July of 2021 and will be moving on to serve as the director of operations, J-3, U.S. Cyber Command.
During the ceremony, Heritage thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the MARFORCYBER, MARFORSPACE, and MCIC under his charge.
“What the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, civilians, and embedded partners are doing, has reached levels that were unfathomable just two years ago,” said Maj. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage, off-going commander of MARFORCYBER. He continued to say “Thank you for your leadership, drive, and incredible initiative.”
Maj. Gen. Matos III assumes command after serving as Deputy Commander, MARFORCYBER.
“I stand before you today with all of this tremendous responsibility before me,” said Matos III, “Creating a synergy across cyberspace and information domains to support the cyber command… will be an exciting and daunting challenge, which I’m ready to take on.”
MARFORCYBER is responsible for conducting full-spectrum cyberspace operations, to include operating and defending the Marine Corps Enterprise Network, conducting defensive cyberspace operations within the MCEN and Joint Force networks, and when directed, conducting offensive cyberspace operations in support of Joint and Coalition Forces.
MARFORSPACE provides operational support to the Fleet Marine Force. It is a distributed force, integrated throughout the U.S. Space Command enterprise to increase warfighter lethality and provide domain-specific access to warfighting capabilities.
MCIC integrates, synchronizes and enables operations in the information environment in the conduct of naval, joint, and combined campaigning in order to deter adversaries and set conditions for the FMF across the range of military operations.