3 acting chiefs, 3 black boxes: Army, Navy to join Marines without confirmed chief - Breaking...

When US Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville ceremonially turns over the service’s reins to his vice chief, Gen. Randy George, on Friday, staffers inside the Pentagon will head for the hallway displaying the sitting Joint Chiefs of Staff to replace McConville’s portrait with an empty black box.

The reason: George will become the second member of the joint chiefs to serve in an acting position, joining Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, who is also awaiting confirmation to helm his service. And the department is just days away from adding a third black box to the wall.

The Army ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia is formally dubbed a “relinquishment of responsibility” since the Senate has not confirmed George as the 41st Army chief of staff. George “will continue in his current capacity as vice chief of staff of the Army and will perform duties as prescribed by the secretary of the Army,” US Army spokeswoman Madison Bonzo told Breaking Defense on Thursday.

On Aug. 14 the Navy will follow suit when Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday travels to Annapolis, Md., to formally step aside for Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti to become the “acting chief of naval operations.”