Col. Craig T. Boddington had worn the one star insignia without being confirmed.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Marine Corps has reprimanded its Iraq war commander for improperly allowing a colonel to wield the authority and wear the insignia of a general for nine months last year.

Col. Craig T. Boddington had been nominated in 2001 to become a brigadier general but had not been confirmed by the Senate when he wore the one-star insignia as a Marine commander in Kuwait from April 2002 through the end of last year, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston, who then commanded all Marines in the region, admitted ordering Boddington to take command and wear the insignia of a brigadier general, the statement said.

Acting Navy Secretary Hansford T. Johnson gave Hailston a letter of censure for his actions, the statement said.

Hailston is on leave awaiting retirement, Marine Corps spokesman Douglas Powell said Friday.

The Marine Corps’ inspector general began investigating after getting an anonymous complaint last December.

Boddington left the post in Kuwait weeks later.

The statment said Boddington, who has returned to a previous job at Camp Pendleton, Calif., was “counseled” about the matter but not punished further. His nomination is still pending in the Senate.

Top officer assignments in the U.S. military require confirmation by the Senate. Allowing an officer to use a rank without that confirmation is considered a serious breach of military rules.

Wearing improper insignia is a touchy issue in the Navy and Marine Corps.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee stopped wearing three decorations on his uniform earlier this year because he did not have the proper documentation proving he was entitled to them. In 1996, Adm. Jeremy “Mike” Boorda, then the Navy’s top uniformed officer, shot himself to death at his home just before he was to be questioned by reporters about two Vietnam combat decorations he wore but may not have been authorized to display.

Hagee commanded Marine forces at Camp Pendleton when Boddington was ordered to Kuwait in March 2002 and passed along Hailston’s directive to have Boddington act as a brigadier general, the Marine Corps statement said.

Johnson wrote to Hagee expressing confidence in Hagee’s ability to lead the Marine Corps, the statement said. Johnson’s letter said he is counting on Hagee to ensure “the culture within the Marine Corps requires adherence to law and policy” and that “when mistakes are made, immediate action must be taken to address them,” the statement said.