Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz has been selected to serve as the 20th sergeant major of the Marine Corps. Ruiz is serving now as the command senior enlisted leader for the Marine Corps Forces Reserve and Marines Corps Forces South. He will replace Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Troy E. Black during a relief and appointment ceremony slated for Aug. 8, 2023. (Department of Defense)
The Marine Corps has selected a 30-year veteran who has served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and worked as a drill instructor and recruiter as the next senior enlisted Marine.
The Corps last week announced it had selected Sgt. Maj. Carlos A. Ruiz to become the 20th sergeant major of the Marine Corps. Ruiz will become the top enlisted Marine on Aug. 8 when he is scheduled to relieve Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, who is set to retire.
Ruiz now serves as the senior enlisted leader for Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces South.
As the senior enlisted Marine, Ruiz will work alongside the Marine commandant and advise him on the issues that impact enlisted troops. Black has served as the sergeant major of the Marine Corps since July 2019, working alongside Gen. David Berger, the commandant who is slated to retire in the summer.
Black, in a statement, endorsed Ruiz’s selection.
“He’s a proven leader, a combat veteran and has experience in all elements of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, especially in his current assignment at U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve,” Black said. “As sergeant major of the Marine Corps, he will lead our Marines to the next level. He’s a Marine who will continuously provide leadership, guidance, care and advocacy for all Marines and their families.”
Ruiz enlisted in the Marines in 1993 in Phoenix, according to his official biography. He first served as Marine Corps warehouse clerk with the 3rd Supply Battalion of the 3rd Force Service Support Group in Okinawa, Japan. He went on to serve in logistics positions with the 1st Service Support Group of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment and 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, and in the 4th Marine Logistics Group.
In 1998, he served as a recruiter in Los Angeles. He was deployed in early 2003 in support of the invasion of Iraq, according to his biography. He became a drill instructor after returning from Iraq, serving in that role from 2004 until 2008.
In 2009, he served his first of two back-to-back tours in Afghanistan, according to the Corps.
Ruiz’s awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with one gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon with one gold star, according to his biography.
The sergeant major of the Marine Corps typically serves in the role for about four years at the discretion of the commandant. Ruiz will take over as Gen. Eric Smith is expected to take over as commandant from Berger as soon as next month.
However, the timing of Smith’s confirmation as the 39th Marine commandant is in question because of a procedural move by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has delayed the Senate for months from making standard voice votes to approve top-level military promotions over his objection to a Pentagon policy that provides travel money to troops for reproductive health care, including abortions. The nominees can still be individually confirmed by the Senate one by one, a process that would consume months of upper chamber floor time.
