The ceremony represented the formal transfer of responsibility and authority from Swan to Rideout. Lt. Gen. Calvert Worth, commanding general, II Marine Expeditionary Force, presided over the ceremony.

“I have been extremely blessed, humbled and honored to serve 2nd MAW these past fifteen months,” said Swan. “I witnessed firsthand a commitment to mission excellence that I could not be more proud of. Early on, I tasked my commanders to be ready, to take care of their Marines, Sailors and families, and to improve their positions. They, and the teams they led, did that in spades.”

As commanding general of 2nd MAW from May 2024 to August 2025, Swan balanced 2nd MAW’s mission to support crisis response with combat-ready forces while continuing aviation modernization efforts across the wing. Swan oversaw the arrival of the wing’s first F-35C Lightning II jet aircraft, the redesignation of two F/A-18 Hornet squadrons to the F-35, the reactivation of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 269, the arrival of the wing’s first MQ-9A Reaper, and 2nd MAW’s participation in numerous Joint and multinational exercises to advance warfighting concepts. He oversaw the continued development of distributed aviation operations, a method of generating aviation combat power through the coordinated employment of aviation squadrons, command-and-control agencies, aviation logistics, and aviation ground-support units disaggregated across the battlefield that challenges adversary targeting efforts. Swan also implemented the commanding general’s cowbell recognition program to recognize Marines, Sailors and civilians who innovate and improve processes at their level.

“Not only did we deploy to all corners of the globe,” said Swan, “but at home we took leaps forward in modernizing and improving our warfighting capability and readiness at all levels. Together, we found ‘more cowbell’; and we found lots of it. I will miss this team, and I am incredibly thankful for my time here – but I'm confident that 2nd MAW’s Marines, Sailors and families are in good hands with Maj. Gen. Rideout.”

Rideout’s previous general officer assignments include Director, Military Advisor Group, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation INHERENT RESOLVE based in Baghdad, Iraq, from June of 2020 to June of 2021, Deputy Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force, from July 2021 to June 2023, and, most recently, Director, Manpower Management, from June 2023 to July 2025.

Prior to serving as a general officer, Rideout served in several billets at 2nd MAW, including as the current operations officer, 2nd MAW, assistant operations officer, Marine Aircraft Group 29, commanding officer, HMLA-467, and numerous squadron assignments with HMLA-269 at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. He also served as the commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

“It truly is coming home to the Carolina MAGTF for us, and I could not be more excited,” said Rideout. To Swan, he said “Thank you for all that you have done for 2nd MAW.”

2nd MAW generates, deploys and sustains expeditionary, combat-ready units as the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), the Marine Corps’ service-retained MEF.