LET THE COMMANDANT LEAD THE MARINE CORPS
NICHOLAS HANSON JUNE 20, 2022
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger is under siege. From former senator, secretary of the Navy, and decorated Marine Corps veteran Jim Webb to living Marine Corps legend Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, the criticisms of his Force Design 2030 have been loud and comprehensive. On April 1, Politico reported, “an influential group of over two dozen retired generals have launched a counteroffensive against his plans to transform the Marine Corps.” Most recently, rather than denigrating Berger’s vision and ambition, former Marine infantry officer and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Owen West highlighted process issues surrounding how Force Design 2030 was designed and implemented.
Gen. Berger has ignited what one observer characterized as an intellectual civil war within the Marine Corps. Criticism has been directed along two fronts: the aggressive reforms themselves and how the commandant developed them. The contempt for Force Design 2030 stems in considerable measure from perceptions that the future Marine Corps will be too narrowly focused on China and, in a future fight against the People’s Liberation Army, rely far too heavily on advanced technology instead of the tenacity and prowess of marines themselves. On the process side, critics argue that the commandant made decisions in a black box under the influence of groupthink and without open experimentation and testing.
By historical standards, Gen. Berger’s ongoing reforms to the service are extreme: cutting infantry battalions, shrinking cannon artillery in favor of rocket batteries, cutting heavy armor in favor of light armor, and reducing heavy-lift and light/attack helicopter squadrons. However, these changes do align with the service’s proud legacy of radical innovation and adaptation. Moreover, these changes also align with senior Pentagon civilian directives to the Marine Corps over the past five years. These changes are also strongly supported by Congress, as key leaders on Capitol Hill have urged Pentagon leaders to concentrate specifically on the rapidly growing threat from the Chinese Communist Party.
https://warontherocks.com/2022/06/let-the-commandant-lead-the-marine-corps/
