The assistant commandant is nominated for appointment by the president and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate.

In recent decades, the assistant commandant has frequently been a Marine aviator.

No records exist before the outbreak of World War I about this position, possibly because the Commandant likely had only administrative staff and no deputy.

From April 29, 1911, to October 16, 1946, 19 men were assigned to assist the commandant, including five who later became commandant: John A. Lejeune, Wendell C. Neville, Ben H. Fuller, John H. Russell Jr., and Alexander A.

Major General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. was the first to hold the billet and went on to become commandant, as well as six others: Randolph M. Pate, Leonard F. Chapman Jr., Robert H. Barrow, Paul X. Kelley, James F. Amos and Joseph Dunford.