By Jared Samuelson
While busy dramatically reshaping his service, Marine Corps Commandant General Berger managed to stop by the Sea Control virtual studio (the first podcast program to make it on his Commandant’s reading list.) In a wide-ranging interview, we discussed force design, expeditionary logistics, the Light Amphibious Warship, anti-submarine warfare, Navy-Marine Corps command and control arrangements and more.
Sea Control 269 – USMC Commandant General David Berger On Force Design
Links
1. The 38th Commandant’s Planning Guidance, by Gen. David H. Berger, July 2019
2. General David H. Berger official biography.
2. General David H. Berger official biography.
3. The Courage to Change: Modernizing U.S. Marine Corps Human Capital Investment and Retention, by Eric Reid, The Brookings Institution, June 2021.
4. Force Design 2030, by Gen. David H. Berger, March 26, 2020.
5. “Bring Back the Seaplane,” by David Alman, War on the Rocks, July 1, 2020.
6. “Extend Air Wing Range with Seaplane Tankers,” by Second Lieutenant David Alman, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 2021.
7. “Marines Will Help Fight Submarines,” by Gen. David H. Berger, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, November 2020.
8. “EABO Needs a New Naval Command and Control Structure,” by Captain Nick Oltman, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 2019.
9. “Marines Break Ground on New War Game Center,” by Todd South, Marine Corps Times, May 15, 2021.
10. “Redefine Readiness or Lose,” by Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. and Gen. David H. Berger, War on the Rocks, March 15, 2021.
11. Commandant of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program 2020.
Jared Samuelson is Executive Producer and Co-Host of the Sea Control podcast. Contact him at Seacontrol@cimsec.org.
This episode was edited and produced by Keagan Ingersoll.
Great interview. Berger should get extended as Commandant.
Better question, what war games has the Commandant played? These answers can be as important as a reading list and most of the best aren’t on a computer.
Also, I understand the driver to keep LAW cheap, but you could have a point defense against ASMs and even towed torpedo decoy and still keep cost such you could have 8-12 LAW per the cost of an LPD. Those mk 46 turrets don’t seem as valuable as would Searam, NULKA and a SEWIP. Its a ship, and even if its as cheap as possible it’s still a juicy target.
I’d rather have a modern Newport-lite with the speed to move with everyone else. Speed is relevant. We have to think the PLAN will gray zone us to death before firing a shot. They could afford to “accidentally” run a 23 knot container ship right over a LAW just like it were a whale getting in the way. yes, we need smaller and more numerous, but it is not an end in and of itself.