Located in Arlington, Virginia, includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps and various agencies and staff functions. The function, composition, and general duties of HQMC are defined in the United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle C, Part I, Chapter 506 (Headquarters, Marine Corps).
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military responsible for providing power projection from the sea, utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces to global crises. Alongside the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps operates under the United States Department of the Navy.
The Marine Corps, with 190,000 active duty and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2008, is the smallest of the United States' armed forces in the Department of Defense.