David H. Berger

David Hilberry Berger (born December 21, 1959) is an American retired general who served as the 38th commandant of the United States Marine Corps from 2019 to 2023.

Berger was born in Delaware and raised in Maryland. He graduated from Tulane University and was commissioned into United States Marine Corps in 1981. He served in the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion during the Gulf War. Over the course of his career, Berger led the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines on a deployment to Haiti, led a regimental combat team in Iraq, served at the Kosovo Force headquarters, and commanded the 1st Marine Division in Afghanistan. He later commanded the I Marine Expeditionary Force from 2014 to 2016; Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, and Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, from 2016 to 2018; and the Marine Corps Combat Development Command from 2018 to 2019.

As the commandant, he developed and began implementing Force Design 2030, a reform that is shifting the focus of the Marine Corps from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to preparing for the competition between the United States and China.

Early life and education David Hilberry Berger was born on December 21, 1959 in Delaware. He is a native of Woodbine, Maryland. He graduated from Glenelg High School in 1977.

Berger holds a bachelor's of science degree in engineering from Tulane University, and two Master's degrees, one in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University, and the other in Military Studies.

As a lieutenant and captain, he served as rifle platoon commander in India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division and later as a company commander and battalion operations officer in 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion during Operation Desert Storm. He also served as an officer selection officer in Roanoke, Virginia. As a field grade officer, Berger was an instructor at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One in Yuma, Arizona; instructor at III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Special Operations Training Group; and served on the Joint Staff as a policy planner in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, J-5. Berger commanded 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines from 2002 to 2004, deploying the battalion first to Okinawa, and later to Haiti in support of Operation Secure Tomorrow. As a colonel, Berger commanded Regimental Combat Team 8 in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

General officer

While serving as assistant division commander of 2nd Marine Division, Berger was appointed to the rank of brigadier general. He then deployed to Kosovo, where he served for one year as chief of staff for Kosovo Force (KFOR) Headquarters in Pristina. From 2009 to 2011 he served at Headquarters Marine Corps as the Director of Operations in Plans, Policies, and Operations. In 2012 he deployed to Afghanistan as the commanding general of 1st Marine Division (forward) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Berger started serving as commanding general of Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center on January 11, 2013. On August 26, 2016, he was appointed simultaneously the commander, United States Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, and commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. During his time in that position he worked to strengthen the partnership between the U.S. Marine Corps and its local allies in Japan, Korea, Australia, and the Philippines, His appointed to that position happened around the time that the military began focusing on the rise of China. As the head of MCCDC, he began considering how the knowledge he gained while commanding Marine forces in the Pacific could be applied to the Corps. Berger oversaw a wargame at the Naval War College that simulated a potential conflict in that region, and its results influenced his policies when he later became the commandant. According to him, the wargame showed that mobility and sustaining forces in the Western Pacific were going to be challenges in such a conflict, but with certain changes, the Marine Corps could have an important role in sea-control and sea-denial operations. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 5, and took command in a ceremony held July 11 at the Marine Barracks in Washington D.C.

Modernization One day after taking office, on July 12, 2019, Berger issued the Commandant's Planning Guidance, setting out his vision for the Marine Corps. He concluded in the document that the Corps needed major changes to align it with the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which prioritizes the strategic competition between the United States and China. His restructuring plan, Force Design 2030, was announced in March 2020. It has been described as the biggest transformation of the Marine Corps in decades, changing the service's focus on the threat of China and preparing Marines to operate within the range of Chinese weapons systems in the Western Pacific, such as in the first island chain and the South China Sea. To accomplish this, Berger stated that the Marine Corps must become a lighter expeditionary force. All 452 tanks of the Marine Corps are to be transferred to the Army by 2023, and the majority of traditional cannon artillery will be replaced by rocket artillery, such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The first of the littoral regiments created by Force Design, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, was activated in March 2022. Politico reported that there are thirty retired Marine generals who oppose the changes brought by Force Design, including every living former Commandant, and some of them formed a dedicated group to lobby against it. Berger had a meeting with members of this group on March 3, 2022, though the retired generals left the meeting unsatisfied. Berger has defended the plan from the critics, pointing out that in "every single exercise, every war game ... the outcome in the future was not going to be good if we didn't make some kind of changes." According to Admiral Scott Swift, who commanded the Pacific Fleet when Berger was the head of Marine Forces in the Pacific, the plan is based on a combination of Berger's experiences and a series of wargames. Swift said that Berger "understood the challenges he was taking on and how he would be criticized, but he had done enough study."

Berger (right) relinquishing command to Assistant Commandant Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, in 2023 Berger's reforms had the support of the Department of Defense, including defense secretaries Mark Esper and Lloyd Austin, as well as the defense committees of the House and Senate. His main focus during his term as commandant was on making changes to equipment, and he said that other aspects of Force Design 2030 will be the focus of his successor.

In January 2023 the Washington Post reported that Berger and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. were being considered by the White House as the two leading candidates to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when Mark Milley retired from the post in September. Brown ended up being selected for the role. Berger's term as the Commandant of the Marine Corps ended on July 10, 2023, with him relinquishing office to his assistant commandant, Eric Smith, and retiring from the military.

Awards and decorations

SCUBA Diver BadgeNavy and Marine Corps Parachutist InsigniaNavy Distinguished Service MedalDefense Superior Service MedalLegion of Merit with Combat VDefense Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal with one gold award starJoint Service Commendation MedalNavy Commendation Medal with award starCombat Action Ribbon with award starJoint Meritorious Unit AwardNavy Unit Commendation with two bronze service starsNavy Meritorious Unit Commendation with three service starsNational Defense Service Medal with service starArmed Forces Expeditionary MedalSouthwest Asia Service Medal with three service starsKosovo Campaign Medal with service starAfghanistan Campaign Medal with service starIraq Campaign Medal with two service starsGlobal War on Terrorism Service MedalKorea Defense Service MedalHumanitarian Service Medal with service starSea Service Deployment Ribbon with ten service starsMarine Corps Recruiting Service RibbonNATO Medal Non-Article 5 for the Balkans with service starKuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Expert Rifle Badge (5th award)Expert Pistol Badge (2nd award)Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

Dates of promotion + Rank Branch Date Second lieutenant Marine Corps 1981 Lieutenant colonel 22 May 1998 Colonel 1 May 2003 Brigadier general 1 March 2007 Major general 2 March 2011 Lieutenant general 25 June 2014 General 5 June 2019

Personal life He married his wife Donna in 1981, and they have four sons. One of them enlisted in the Marine Corps and another one became a Marine officer.