Robert Neller

Robert Blake Neller (born February 9, 1953) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2015 to 2019.

Neller was born in Louisiana and was raised in Michigan. He was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from the University of Virginia in 1975 and served as an infantry officer. During his career he was deployed to Panama, Somalia and Iraq. As a general officer he served as the commanding general of the 3rd Marine Division, the Directer of Operations on the Joint Staff, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command, and commander of Marine Corps Forces Command as well as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.

Early life and education
Neller was born in Camp Polk, Louisiana on February 9, 1953. A native of East Lansing, Michigan, he graduated from East Lansing High School in 1971. He enrolled in the University of Virginia and, at graduation, received his commission through Officer Candidates School via the Platoon Leaders Class program in May 1975.

Neller is a graduate of The Basic School, Armor Officer Advanced Course (now the Maneuver Captains Career Course), Marine Corps Command and Staff College, NATO Defense College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Speech Communication from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from Pepperdine University. Neller is a member of Theta Chi fraternity.

Early career
Neller's assignments in the operating forces include: Rifle and Weapons Platoon Commander and Company Commander with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division; Commanding Officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines; Commanding Officer, 3rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion (LAI) and Commanding Officer, 6th Marine Regiment from 10 July 1998 to 6 July 2000. While with 3rd LAI he participated in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. As the Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Security Force Company, Panama, he participated in Operations Just Cause and Promote Liberty. Additionally, he served as Executive Officer, 7th Marine Regiment, G-3, II Marine Expeditionary Force and G-3, 2nd Marine Division.

Other assignments include recruit series officer, aide-de-camp and as Director of Special Training Division MCRD San Diego, California. Neller served as Student Company Executive Officer and Tactics Instructor at The Basic School, Quantico, Virginia, and in Special Projects Directorate Headquarters Marine Corps. Additionally, he served as a Staff Officer in the Policy Division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Casteau, Belgium.

General officer


As a general officer, Neller has served as the Assistant Division Commander of the 2nd Marine Division and the Director, Operations Division, Plans, Policies and Operations. He was also the Deputy Commanding General (Operations), 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) during an especially dangerous time of the Iraq War from 2005 to 2007, and as the Assistant Division Commander for 1st Marine Division. Neller commanded 3rd Marine Division and served as President, Marine Corps University. From January 2011 to July 2012, he served as Director for Operations, J3, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.

From September 2012 to June 2014 he served as commander, Marine Corps Forces Central Command. In this role he was responsible for the 15,000 Marines that were in the Middle East at the time, in the United States Central Command area of responsibility. Neller was the first dedicated commander of MARCENT to be at its headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, as the role was previously held by the commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California.

In June 2014 he became the commander of Marine Corps Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, where he oversaw the preparation of Marines for operations and deployment, as well as East Coast Marine bases. In that role he was also the head of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

Commandant
Neller succeeded General Joseph Dunford as the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps on September 24, 2015. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who worked with Neller when he had been Director of Operations at the Joint Staff, said that Neller "is a warrior. He is a leader. He is a statesman." Him being chosen over other candidates was considered to be due to his experience of working with the Navy while being the head of Marine Forces Command, as the Marine Corps was considering a new doctrine that is based on a closer partnership with the Navy.

In June 2017, General Neller told Congress that the Marine Corps is "not currently organized, trained and equipped to face a peer adversary in the year 2025."

After retirement
On February 12, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appointed Neller as one of four Departmental representatives to the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.