Robert Neller

Robert Blake Neller (born February 9, 1953) is a retired American general who served as the 37th commandant of the United States Marine Corps from 2015 to 2019.

Neller was born in Louisiana and was raised in Michigan. He was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from the University of Virginia in 1975 and served as an infantry officer. During his career he was deployed to Panama, Somalia, and Iraq. As a general officer he served as the commanding general of the 3rd Marine Division, the Director of Operations on the Joint Staff, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command, and commander of Marine Corps Forces Command as well as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.

Early life and education Neller was born in Camp Polk, Louisiana on February 9, 1953. A native of East Lansing, Michigan, he graduated from East Lansing High School in 1971. He enrolled in the University of Virginia and, at graduation, received his commission through Officer Candidates School via the Platoon Leaders Class program in May 1975.

Neller is a graduate of The Basic School, Armor Officer Advanced Course (now the Maneuver Captains Career Course), Marine Corps Command and Staff College, NATO Defense College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Speech Communication from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from Pepperdine University. While with 3rd LAI he participated in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. As the Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Security Force Company, Panama, he participated in Operations Just Cause and Promote Liberty. Additionally, he served as Executive Officer, 7th Marine Regiment, G-3, II Marine Expeditionary Force and G-3, 2nd Marine Division. In this role he was responsible for the 15,000 Marines that were in the Middle East at the time, in the United States Central Command area of responsibility. Neller was the first dedicated commander of MARCENT to be at its headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, as the role was previously held by the commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California.

In June 2014 he became the commander of Marine Corps Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, where he oversaw the preparation of Marines for operations and deployment, as well as East Coast Marine bases. In that role he was also the head of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

In June 2017, General Neller told Congress that the Marine Corps is "not currently organized, trained and equipped to face a peer adversary in the year 2025."

After retirement Gen. Robert Neller and Gen. Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, at the dedication ceremony for the General Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis on MCB Quantico, May 31, 2024 On February 12, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appointed Neller as one of four Departmental representatives to the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.

Center at Quantico On May 31, 2024, the General Robert B. Neller Center for Wargaming and Analysis, located on MCB Quantico, was dedicated in Neller's honor.

Awards and decorations