U.S. Marine Corps Photo)

Marine Corps Gen. David Berger.

WASHINGTON: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said today he’s been able to push his modernization agenda forward even with two years of flat budgets.

Berger has already said he didn’t request a larger budget in the upcoming 2022 budget, and he described how he’s been able to start the transformation of the force without any extra money, declaring at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference that for the last two years, “at least,” he didn’t ask for more money from the White House or Congress.

“We’re going to start down that path for two years at least, we’ll not ask for one additional dollar,” he said. “We’ve shrunk the size of our headquarters by 15%, we’ve cut legacy programs with the support of Congress. We squeezed everything we can so that when it’s time to ask Congress for assistance, their support, I’m confident we’ve rung every bit of efficiency out of the organization up front.”

Over the past two years, Berger has pushed for what have been the most sweeping changes to the size and composition of his force among the armed services, and informed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier this year he would not request any more money in the 2022 budget than what the Corps received in 2021.

To keep up the pace of a modernization effort that includes things like mounting Naval Strike Missiles on the back of JLTVs in order to hit ships from land, and buying new generations of drones, Berger has divested the Corps of Abrams tanks and will shed 12,000 Marines, along with towed artillery, aircraft and helicopters. He has also pledged to reduce the number of F-35s in squadrons while questioning the role the aircraft will play in his plans going forward.

Even with those changes, the Corps’ austerity stands out at a time when the other services are bracing themselves for only modest increases in the 2022 budget.

The Biden administration has already announced it will submit a $715 billion budget to Congress for 2022. That has set off a squabble between Democrats — who have largely signaled they’re comfortable with the number or want it reduced — and Republicans, who have decried what they see as a budget that won’t grow enough.

Speaking just before Berger this morning, Rep. Liz Cheney, a senior HASC Republican, said the budget’s failure to hit the 3-5% growth target would be a problem for Republicans.

“In my view, that is a red line, and if the administration is not going to be proposing a budget that meets that requirement, then I think they will need to explain to the American people why they’re unwilling to fund defense at the levels the nation needs,” Cheney said.

While Cheney’s view is widespread within her party, her influence there has been damaged over her vocal opposition to parroting the lie that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Her fellow Republicans removed her from a leadership post this week for not showing sufficient fealty to former President Donald Trump.

Last month, the Corps released it’s Tentative Manual For Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, which pushed Berger’s plans to make the force smaller and more lethal. The document outlined plans for small, ad hoc bases that can launch precision missiles and refuel and resupply troops on the move.

It also outlines new generations of precision-guided missiles to sink ships, classes of manned and unmanned ships to both shoot and quickly ferry troops and supplies amid contested islands, and build new partnerships between the Navy and special operations troops to secure shipping lanes and austere outposts.