A Marine Called on the Commandant to Fix the Corps' Identity Crisis. Here's His Response

Just days into his term as commandant, Gen. David Berger has unveiled a bold new plan for the Marine Corps that could put an end to swirling debate that the service is trying to be everything to everyone.

The service can't afford to build tailor-trained units designed to fight specific missions, such as urban, desert or Arctic operations, Berger wrote in his planning guidance, which was released Tuesday.

Instead, he said, "We will build one force -- optimized for naval expeditionary warfare in contested spaces, purpose-built to facilitate sea denial and assured access in support of the fleets.

"That single purpose-built future force," Berger added, "will be applied against other challenges across the globe; however, we will not seek to hedge or balance our investments to account for those contingencies."

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