A native of
Stone Mountain, Georgia, Lieutenant General Heckl graduated from
Georgia State University and was commissioned in April 1988. He was designated an unrestricted Naval Aviator in September 1990. He is also a distinguished graduate of the
Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) and the
Naval War College. While serving as Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, he was performing the duties of
commandant of the Marine Corps from 30 October 2023 to 3 November 2023, when the commandant, General
Eric Smith experienced a heart attack, pending the confirmation of General
Christopher Mahoney as
assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. The confirmation was delayed due to a hold on all military nominations by Senator
Tommy Tuberville, and Heckl was the senior officer at the time. Mahoney was sworn in as assistant commandant on 3 November 2023 and assumed the duties of commandant from Heckl. Heckl also had a leading role in implementing
Force Design 2030, which was still in an early stage when he took office in 2021, throughout the Marine Corps, for which he worked with industry and the
Department of the Navy. On 9 August 2024 he relinquished command of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and the office of deputy commandant for combat development and integration to Lieutenant General
Eric E. Austin, after which he retired from the military. ==References==