Marine Corps' highest-ranking officer earns another promotion

Chesty XVI stands at attentionPhoto byMarine Corps

With much effort, Chesty XVI has been aiming for a promotion.

The Marine has sat for seven of the 2023 parades at Marine Barracks Washington, as ordered, even though he defied commands at half of them, according to Col. Robert Sucher, the Marine's commanding officer.

Despite his reluctance to participate in the Marines' physical fitness exam without food being offered as an incentive, he has managed to keep his slim build by pursuing shadows.

At a Naval Academy baseball game, in Congress, and even at the White House, he has represented the Marine Corps to the public, despite the fact that training him to bring the first pitch to home plate resulted in little more than a few baseballs that had been chewed up.

The Marine Corps mascot, Chesty, was promoted to the rank of lance corporal on Wednesday, following a tenacious thirteen months of service as a private first class.

“It’s because of his proven discipline,” stated Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy, during his remarks at the event held at Marine Barracks Washington.

Del Toro sewed Chesty, a little girl of two years old, into a dress-blue onesie with the lance corporal's insignia. The Navy secretary initially struggled to get the uniform around the neck of the English bulldog.

Del Toro mentioned that Chesty has been exercising, which has resulted in a larger neck.

Chesty shook himself wildly as he walked his first steps as a lance corporal.

Del Toro made the astute observation that the bulldog now had a numerical advantage over approximately 25% of the Marines present at the sold-out event.

After joining in February 2022, the mascot was advanced to the rank of private first class in December of the same year. His uniform proudly displays two medals: one for his service in the national defense and another for his contributions to the war against terrorism.

Members of the service, who are occasionally called Devil Dogs, have a long tradition of using bulldogs as mascots, and Chesty is the latest in that line. The first, Jiggs, joined the Marines in 1922 and, in just two years, was promoted to sergeant major.

Named after the illustrious Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" Puller, Chesty is the sixteenth Marine mascot to carry the distinction.

The lance corporal "personifies" the purpose of Marine Barracks Washington: to interact with the public and offer joy to people, according to Sgt. Scott Rogers, whose home Chesty dwells. “The other Marines' faces light up” when Rogers brings Chesty to work, he said.

"A lot of responsibility is now on Chesty's shoulders, as he's going to have a high burden for mentoring and leading his junior Marines going forward," Rogers added.

Whenever Rogers's "mostly good boy" dog Chesty isn't at work, he enjoys playing with his two canine siblings, eating pizza, and getting belly rubs.

In response to Marine Corps Times' request for comment, Chesty sniffed at the microphone.

Edited by Newsbreak Contributor Denys Shybinskiy