Free Republic

General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who once wanted to understand the imaginary “white rage,” will be stepping down this fall. It’s just in time for him as the Biden administration looks to go to war with China, Russia, and their allies with no money, open borders, a mentally challenged president, and a history of failures. Our military is the best, but the leadership is lacking. Appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump, Milley will be retiring at the age of 65 as the nation’s highest-ranking member of the U.S....

We Make Marines,” proclaims a banner at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, summarizing the service’s ethos that recruits have to prove they have the mental and physical toughness to serve in the Corps by surviving boot camp. By the time men and women receive their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, they have proven that they have the physical and mental toughness to earn the coveted title of “Marine.”But Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger wants “exceptionally talented Americans” to be able to bypass the Corps’ traditional rites of passage and begin serving “at a rank appropriate to their...

US Marine officers are notoriously dismissive of those who talk about strategy. "Strategy?" a Marine who served in Vietnam says. "Here was our strategy: hey-diddle-diddle, straight-up-the-middle." The description rings true: The Marine Corps' most famous fights were straight-ahead affairs that gave the Corps its most celebrated moments: at Belleau Wood (in World War I), at Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa (in World War II), at Inchon (during Korea), at Hue (in Vietnam) and, most recently during the battles for Fallujah, back in 2004. Now, it seems, all of that is changing. In August of last year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen....

The U.S. Marine Corps on Friday issued detailed directives about removing and banning public displays of the Confederate battle flag at Marine installations — an order that extended to such items as mugs, posters and bumper stickers. “Current events are a stark reminder that it is not enough for us to remove symbols that cause division — rather, we also must strive to eliminate division itself,” the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. David H. Berger, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. David Berger has been confirmed by the Senate as the new commandant of the Marine Corps, replacing Gen. Robert Neller this summer, according to a service statement Thursday. Gen. Berger will receive his fourth star before taking his post as the 38th Marine Corps Commandant during a change of command ceremony in July. The full Senate confirmation vote came hours after Sen. Dan Sullivan dropped his block on Gen. Berger’s nomination on Wednesday.

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...