Top leaders relieved of command at 25th Marine Regiment

[Boats]

Top leaders relieved of command at 25th Marine Regiment
By STEPHEN CARLSON | STARS AND STRIPES - Published: October 6, 2017
RE: https://www.stripes.com/news/top-lea...8#.WdqaHVRSyM8

WASHINGTON — Three senior leaders of the 25th Marine Regiment were relieved of command Wednesday due to a loss of confidence, said Maj. Andrew Aranda, a Marine Forces Reserve spokesman.

Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian, who commands the Marine Forces Reserve, relieved Col. Morgan Mann, commander of the 25th Marine Regiment, Sgt. Maj. James Boutin, the regimental inspector-instructor, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Hoy, the personnel officer, Aranda said Friday.

Aranda declined to give any further details about why the officers were relieved. He also would not say whether there was an ongoing investigation.

Col. Morgan Mann, left, commander of the 25th Marine Regiment, and Sgt. Maj. James Boutin, the regimental inspector-instructor, have been relieved of command.

Col. Daniel Whisnant¸ deputy commander of the 25th Marine Regiment, will take command of the unit until a new commanding officer is chosen, Aranda said.

Mann enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1987 as a field artilleryman before being commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Course in 1989. He has held numerous command positions and served two tours in Iraq in 2005 and 2007 and a tour in Afghanistan in 2013.He is a recipient of the Bronze Star with V device, the Legion of Merit and other awards. He is a graduate of the Army War College, Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Expeditionary Warfare School.

Boutin enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1989. He served two tours in Iraq in 2005 and 2009 and has served in numerous instructor and advisory positions. He previously served as sergeant major for the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Africa, a quick reaction force for U.S. Africa Command. Inspector-instructors are senior personnel charged with maintaining deployment readiness in Marine Reserve units.

The 25th Marine Regiment is based out of Fort Devens, Mass., and is part of the 4th Marine Division. Their unit sobriquet is the “Cold Steel Warriors” and they consist of three infantry battalions and a headquarters company.