Berger was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1981 through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) following graduation from Tulane University with a degree in engineering.[1][9] He joined the ROTC program on the recommendation of his father to pay for college, and later decided to commission in the Marine Corps instead of the Navy. Berger chose the Marine option because he was impressed with the Marine instructors at the Naval ROTC.[9][10]
On August 28, 2018, Berger took up his new post as the Commanding General of Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.[14] 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.[10]
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.[10][19][20] 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.[21][22][23] To accomplish this, Berger stated that the Marine Corps must become a lighter expeditionary force.[24]
The core of Force Design 2030 is establishing smaller units of Marines known as littoral regiments that will be equipped with drones and missile systems and can move quickly between islands in the Pacific, to counter the threat from Chinese missiles and the People's Liberation Army Navy. Teams from the Marine littoral regiments could be moved from island to island using amphibious ships, staying at each location for a short time, and would help the United States Navy target the enemy fleet.[21][25][26][24] As part of this, Force Design refocuses the Marine Corps on high-end combat, shifting away from legacy platforms like tanks and cannon artillery in favor of long-range missiles and drones.[27] All 452 tanks of the Marine Corps are to be transferred to the Army by 2023,[24] and the majority of traditional cannon artillery will be replaced by rocket artillery, such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).[28] The first of the littoral regiments created by Force Design, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, was activated in March 2022.[10]
Force Design 2030 has caused some controversy and debate within the Marine Corps.[10][22][29][30]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.[31] 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."[32] According to Admiral Scott Swift, who commanded the Pacific Fleet when Berger was the head of Marine Forces, Pacific, the plan is based on a combination of Berger's experiences and a series of wargames. Scott said that Berger "understood the challenges he was taking on and how he would be criticized, but he had done enough study."[10] Berger also said that he has listened to suggestions from the critics and used them to make changes to the plan.[33]
Berger (right) with Assistant Commandant Lt. Gen. Eric Smith
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.[34] 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.[32]
Other work
In 2020 he oversaw the response of the Corps to COVID-19 pandemic, including the decision to keep its recruit training and field exercises going in the early months of the pandemic. Later that year he banned the display of Confederate flags on Marine Corps bases.[9] In February 2022, Berger was the keynote speaker for the 67th MSC Student Conference on National Affairs at Texas A&M University.[35]
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 General Mark Milley retired from the post in September.[36] Brown ended up being selected for the role.[37] Berger's term as the Commandant of the Marine Corps ended on July 10, 2023, with him relinquishing office to his assistant commandant, Eric M. Smith,[38][39][40] and retiring from the military.[32]
Personal life
He married his wife Donna in 1981, and they have four sons.[9] One of them enlisted in the Marine Corps and another one became a Marine officer.[34]
^Woodbridge, Christopher (December 2022). "Editorial: The Ongoing Debate"(PDF). Marine Corps Gazette, Special Edition - Force Design 2030: The Ongoing Debate. Vol. 106, no. 12. p. 3.
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