Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
Sure, the Marine Corps is the only force that has a Commandant for the highest ranking officer in charge. I always thought that was strange title so being the Airborne Investigator that I am, I had to find out where did that name come from and "what's up with that name."


As near as I can tell during the Boer War the basic fighting unit was a COMMANDO(none of that platoon or company stuff) and it was lead by a COMMANDANT. They write it as Kommandant. Also a Commando could expand and contract based upon the need and or the enemy...perfect Systems Thinking....adaption to the enemy system based on the environmental system you are operating in. So instead of platoons and companies and battalions you need Commandos sized to the mission need. Dosen't get any better than that.
I think it may originally be a French word. In Dutch, ‘commandant’ translates as commander. I believe that in the South African army the rank of major does not exist. A company commander is a commandant. JMA may confirm or correct me on this. For the UK marines a commando is the equivalent of a battalion.

The USMC may well have (just guessing here) picked the word up from the Dutch or Spanish Marine Corps, which are among the oldest in the world.