Photo By Melissa Buckley | Gen. David Berger, 38th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, visits the Motor...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Gen. David Berger, the 38th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, stepped foot on Fort Leonard Wood for the first time on March 9. He was on post to visit the Marine Corps Detachment — the largest Marine Corps Detachment on an Army installation.
While here, Berger spent time at each of the four Marine instruction companies that call Fort Leonard Wood home. He watched an indoor marksmanship demonstration at the Marine’s Military Police Instruction Company. He visited Training Area 204, where the Engineer Equipment Instruction Company has simulators for their heavy construction equipment. He watched a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear detection demonstration at the CBRN Instruction Company and got a first-hand look at students training in the Motor Transport Instruction Company’s vehicle simulators at Training Area 236.
Berger said the Marine Corps can’t operate without the detachment.
“They feed trained Marines into the rest of the Marine Corps,” he said. “We cannot do what the nation needs us to do if they didn’t deliver the quality of Marines that they do. We can’t do it without them.”
According to Lt. Col. Richard Johnson Jr., the detachment’s executive officer, the detachment is made up of more than 300 Department of Defense civilians and permanent-party Marines — collectively, they train more than 6,000 Marines each year.
Berger traveled to mid-Missouri with his wife, Donna Berger. While he was touring training sites, she was touring post housing, the new hospital construction site, the USO and meeting with the spouses of Marines stationed on Fort Leonard Wood.
After their separate, afternoon of tours here, when the couple met for dinner, they realized they had both come to the same conclusion about the Fort Leonard Wood Marine Corps Detachment.
“We were just talking about what makes this place special — it is the people,” the general said. “The bond that the Marines and their families have here is special.”
“We just met these people five or six hours ago and I feel like I am part of their family,” Mrs. Berger added. “That’s just the way they made me feel.”
Mrs. Berger said she was impressed at the connection the spouses have formed with one another.
“The sense of community here is incredible,” she said. “They have banded together to take care of each other, their families and the single Marines.”
Fort Leonard Wood was just one stop of many for the commandant.
“We travel around to see a fair number of schools where Marines get trained,” Berger said. “The Marines here know what they are doing. They are very focused.”
Berger said the detachment’s leadership showed a notable confidence in their Marines. He explained that in the corporate world some leaders get nervous when a four-star general or admiral level executive is visiting, and the supervisors sometimes try to answer questions for their staff.
“This place is completely different. The commanding officer (Col. Scottie Redden) of this detachment — like really good leaders do — stayed back,” the general said. “He was happy for me to talk to a corporal or a sergeant because he knew they would get it straight. There was no filter. All day, it was just, ‘Here, talk to a staff sergeant or a gunny.’ The leadership here never tried to answer a question or intervene. That is the kind of culture I want.”
Berger said another thing he observed was the ever-present perspective that there are always opportunities to improve.
“The approach that we can do this better — they are continually looking for a better way to train,” Berger said. “They are not just coming in and clocking in on a timeclock. The energy and enthusiasm here is remarkable. You can’t make that artificially; it is genuine.”
The Bergers finished their tour with a townhall meeting with the detachment’s leadership at the Pershing Community Center.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2023 16:23 |
| Story ID: | 445463 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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