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You've probably never heard of Dave Berger. President Trump nominated him on March 27 to be the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps. I met him when we were both assigned to Camp Pendleton, and I remember his deep interest in mastering the Corps's tactics, logistics, and weapons systems. From the beginning of his career, he showed a quiet devotion to the Corps's excellence. His career is filled with aggressive, on-the-ground combat, including leading a regiment at Fallujah and a division in Afghanistan. He is one of America's best and most experienced combat commanders. The Berger nomination is in contrast...

WASHINGTON — Hailed as “a tested warrior and an innovative strategist,” Gen. Robert Neller accepted command of the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday morning during a traditional ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington. Neller — who was pinned with a fourth star Thursday — became the Corps’ 37th commandant, taking over for Gen. Joseph Dunford, who held the post for less than a year. Dunford will become the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., replacing retiring Army Gen. Martin Dempsey.

Marine Corps officials who tried to ban the Marine Corps Times from base newsstands or move it to less visible areas in stores did so because of the paper’s reporting on the commandant, emails obtained by that paper suggest.

WASHINGTON – Gen. James Amos became the 35th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on Friday, taking command of a force that has roughly 20,000 Marines deployed at war in southern Afghanistan while at the same time is being tasked to question its own future by civilian defense leaders. "If I said I was about to jump out of my skin, it would be an understatement," Amos said eagerly, as soon as he took the microphone. Amos, who served as Vice Commandant, commanded II Marine Expeditionary Force and an aviation wing in Iraq. He is the first naval aviator to...

In what was likely his last appearance in the Pentagon briefing room, soon-to-be retiring Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway once more waded into the “don’t ask, don’t tell” waters with his straight-shooter candor by suggesting that “very religious” Marines with “moral concerns” about homosexuality might not be forced to live with their gay battle buddies. Marines are billeted – or assigned sleeping quarters – in twos. Already earlier this year, Conway told Military.com that he "would not ask our Marines" to bunk in the same rooms with openly gay Marines. But exactly what about cohabitation worried him was unclear....

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that Gen. James Amos will be the next commandant of the Marine Corps, POLITICO has learned. Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford has been recommended to be assistant commandant. President Obama has not yet nominated either individual, according to defense sources, but the recommendations were recently sent to the White House. Amos, already the Corps’ No. 2 officer, would be the first aviator to lead the service. The selection of Amos is a huge upset since the choice was thought to be between two known infantry officers: Dunford, and Gen. James Mattis. Both men had long...

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the nation considers whether to let gays to serve openly in the military. In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment to determine how to lift the ban. But he also suggested that civil rights ultimately would have to take a back seat if it meant tampering with the military's ability to protect the country. "That's what they have been built to do under the current construct and I...

This e-mail from a Marine officer-turned-Arkansas farmer who fought — and was wounded twice — in the Battle of Hue (in which then-2nd Lieutenant Peter Pace also fought), one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War: ... "I think Harry Reid is a wimp, who acts like a sissy, and could not lead a platoon of Marines to the head (latrine)."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lt. Gen. James Conway, a former commander in Iraq who holds a senior post at the Pentagon, has been nominated to head the U.S. Marine Corps, the Defense Department said on Tuesday. President George W. Bush's nomination of Conway comes at a sensitive time for the Marines, with criminal investigations underway that could lead to murder charges in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in separate incidents in November and April. Conway, director of operations for the military's Joint Staff, would be promoted to the position of Marine Corps commandant to replace Gen. Michael Hagee, who had been...

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2006 – The Marine Corps will get to the bottom of allegations that some of its members wrongly killed a number of civilians during two separate operations in Iraq, the organization's commandant told reporters here today. Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, said during a Pentagon press briefing June 7 that three Marine officers, a battalion commander and two company commanders, have been relieved of duty while investigations continue on two incidents of Marines' alleged misconduct in Iraq. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At a Pentagon news briefing,...

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2006 – President Bush welcomed a new commandant to the Coast Guard here today, and officially recognized the service as a whole for its contributions during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Incoming Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen told the audience at his change of command ceremony May 25 that his service's "challenge is to attack each day, each task, with a purpose grounded in who we are, what we have been, and what we must become." The ceremony took place at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  (Click...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (April 11, 2006) -- The Corp’s highest-ranking officer decorated a Darkhorse Marine for combat valor here, April 11. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee presented the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device to Sgt. Matthew S. Scarborough, a TOW gunner with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment at the Camp Fallujah Chapel of Hope. The award for Scarborough’s actions a year-an-a-half ago while fighting in Fallujah. He’s back, this time with Regimental Combat Team 5. “It’s a shock,” said the 22-year-old from Dripping Springs, Texas. “Big shock. It’s a good award, but...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 31, 2006) -- General Robert Magnus, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, visited Naval Medical Center San Diego March 22, for a look into the health and welfare of local injured Marines. The general took time from meetings with the commanding officer of NMCSD and Navy Medicine West to spend lunch with injured Marines and Navy corpsmen who assist them aboard NMCSD. “You all represent an awesome team, a tremendous asset, and I have to thank you all for what you do. Semper Fi,” said Gen. Magnus. Between the entrée and dessert, Gen....

AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 7, 2006) -- Visits from the Marine Corps’ commandant and sergeant major can be career highlights for any Marine, but Lance Cpl. Nicholas M. Gardner anticipated the Feb. 3 visit to Al Asad, Iraq, more than his comrades. He knew that when the Corps’ senior leaders came to visit Marines and sailors deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his father, the Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, would be joining them. “I consider it a privilege to be here,” said Lt. Gen. Emerson N. Gardner. “I’m thrilled to see not just my son, but also...

But sentry duty at Annapolis has been a 155-year tradition for Marines. Naval tradition is the lifeblood of the Corps, and I believed – until my former Marine Corps commandant disabused me of that belief – that to remove Marines from the guard posts at Annapolis would somehow lessen the potency of that lifeblood. Other Marines I’ve spoken to have felt similarly.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 8, 2006) -- As part of their tour of Marine forces in Iraq, a small delegation from Washington, D.C. recently visited the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at Forward Operating Base Hit, Iraq. Among the group was General Robert Magnus, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. Jan C. Huly, the Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, and Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (USMC, Ret.), the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Reserve Affairs). After an update on the MEU’s ongoing and planned counterinsurgency efforts with the 2nd Marine Division...

More than just a branch of America’s armed forces, the modern U.S. Marine Corps serves as a model that other military forces worldwide have attempted to emulate, with varying degrees of success. Marines are aware of this, and justifiably proud. But that pride has not always been conducive to working and playing well with others.

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 25, 2005) -- The Corps’ senior leaders visited several homebound 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment personnel aboard one of their forward operating bases in northern Fallujah Sept. 25. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps John. L. Estrada lauded the Marines and sailors on their successes combating the anti-Iraqi insurgency throughout the area during the past seven months. “Thank you for making such a huge difference in the lives of the Iraqi people,” Estrada stated. “You have given the people here the chance to dream of and live...

It is with deep regret that I announce the death last night, 21 June 2005, of General Louis H. Wilson, Jr. U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, our 26th Commandant of the Marine Corps who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the battle of Guam on 25-26 July 1944. He passed away peacefully at his home in Birmingham, Alabama. In accordance with Article 1288 of Navy Regulations, all ships and stations of the Department of the Navy are required to half-mast the national ensign from the time of General Wilson's death, as a former CMC, until sunset of the date...

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