Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Delwin Ellington, seen here receiving the noncommissioned officer sword during a ceremony in Tampa, Fla., on July 8, 2022, making him the top NCO of Marine Forces Central Command. Ellington was relieved of his duties Feb. 22, 2023, according to the Marines. (Lauren Cobin/U.S. Air Force)

The Marines’ top enlisted leader in the Middle East has been dismissed from his post for what the service calls a loss of trust and confidence.

Sgt. Maj. Delwin Ellington was relieved of his duties on Feb. 22, Marine Corps Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. L. L. Gilbert confirmed in an email Wednesday.

A command investigation is ongoing, and others in the command have assumed Ellington’s duties until a replacement is posted, Gilbert said. He declined to provide more information, citing a desire to “ensure due process” in the investigation.

The statement did not include any information on whether Ellington would be reassigned.

Marine Corps Forces Central Command is based at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and has troops deployed across the Middle East.

Attempts to reach Ellington were unsuccessful.

Ellington assumed the role of sergeant major of Marine Corps Forces Central Command in July 2022, a Marine statement from the time said.

He enlisted in the Corps in 1998, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and served as a drill instructor, according to the cached version of a leader’s biography that has been taken down from the Marines’ website.