The Marines' new commandant has set the bar for real military reform
By David Ignatius
Columnist
August 8, 2019 at 5:56 PM EDT
The Pentagon is buzzing about a potentially revolutionary order by the new Marine Corps commandant that bluntly answers the essential question for would-be military reformers: What should we discard from the legacy arsenal to make room for what we need to fight the wars of the future?
“We cannot afford to retain outdated policies, doctrine, organizations or force development strategies,†wrote Gen. David Berger in his “Commandant’s Planning Guidance†issued July 16, less than a week after he took over. “What served us well yesterday may not today,†when a technologically advanced China is America’s most potent future adversary.
Talk is cheap when it comes to reforming the military, but Berger backs his call for change with specific recommendations that gore many of the Marine Corps’ sacred cows. He says he’s ready to give up some existing forces to pay for modernization — a sentiment that’s rare indeed in a Pentagon that treasures its aircraft carriers, fighter jets and other legacy weapons.
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