General David Berger
Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
David Hilberry Berger was born in December 1959 in Woodbine, Maryland. He earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from Tulane University and two master’s degrees in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and military studies. He has graduated or been certified from several other military education platforms. He was commissioned into the Marine Corps as an infantry officer through the ROTC at Tulane.
He served as platoon and company commander and was a battalion operations officer during Operation Desert Storm. He also saw deployments in the Gulf War, Operation Secure Tomorrow, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. He served as an instructor at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, as an instructor at a Special Operations Training Group, and also served on the Joint Staff as a policy planner.
Berger was nominated by President Donald Trump to become Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was confirmed by the Senate and took command in July 2019.
In the News…
While defending the vaccine mandate as necessary to keeping military forces healthy, Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger admitted that the mandate is contributing to the military’s recruitment troubles.
“Where it is having an impact for sure is on recruiting, where in parts of the country there’s still myths and misbeliefs about the back story behind it,” General Berger said. The mandate has been a particular issue for recruiting in the South, he added.
Discussing how the mandate has contributed to recruiting issues, the general said, “You talk to me in the cafeteria, and one of my first questions is, ‘Do I have to get that vaccine?’ And you go, ‘Yeah, you do.’ Ok, I’ll talk to you later. It’s that fast.”
