DAVE BERKE is a retired Marine Corps officer and combat veteran. As an F/A-18 pilot he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN where he was dual qualified in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and served as the Training Officer, the senior staff pilot responsible for conduct of the TOPGUN course.

He then served as an ANGLICO Forward Air Controller supporting the Army’s 1st Armored Division during extensive urban combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. He was the only Marine selected to fly the F-22 Raptor having served as an exchange officer at the Air Force’s 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron as the Division Commander. He became the first operational pilot ever to fly and be qualified in the F-35B, serving as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ first F-35 squadron from 2012-2014.

He earned his Master’s degree in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies with a concentration in Strategic Studies. He is now a leadership consultant at Echelon Front.

Echelon Front website: https://www.echelonfront.com/

Recommended books:

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

About face - Col. David H Hackworth

Movie: A chance in Hell

TV: Band of Brothers