Jack Bergman

John W. "Jack" Bergman (born February 2, 1947) is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 1st congressional district. He served as commanding general of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North. He also served as a naval aviator, flying rotary-winged aircraft such as the CH-46 and UH-1, as well as fixed-wing aircraft such as the T-28 and KC-130. A Republican, he was elected to the U.S. House in the 2016 election. Bergman is the highest-ranking military official ever elected to the United States Congress.

Early life and education
Bergman was born on February 2, 1947 in Shakopee, Minnesota and received his undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1969. He subsequently earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of West Florida. His formal military education includes Naval Aviation Flight Training, Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command & Staff College, Landing Force Staff Planning (Marine Expeditionary Brigade [MEB] and Air Command Element [ACE]), Reserve Component National Security and Naval War College Strategy & Policy, Syracuse University National Security Seminar, Combined Forces Air Component Command, LOGTECH, and CAPSTONE.

Military career
Bergman was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969 under the Platoon Leader School program after his college graduation.

He flew CH-46 helicopters with HMM-261 at Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina, and with HMM-164 in Okinawa, Japan, and the Republic of Vietnam.

Assigned as a flight instructor, he flew the T-28 with VT-6, NAS Whiting Field, Florida. He left active duty in 1975 and flew UH-1 helicopters with the Rhode Island National Guard, Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

Following a 1978 civilian employment transfer to Chicago, Illinois, he interservice transferred from the Rhode Island National Guard back to the Marine Corps Reserve, where he served in several 4th Marine Aircraft Wing units at NAS Glenview, Illinois: HML-776, flying the UH-1; VMGR-234, flying the KC-130; and Mobilization Training Unit IL-1).

He was selected to stand up the second KC-130 squadron in 4th MAW and, in 1988, became the first Commanding Officer, VMGR-452, Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Newburgh, New York. From 1992 to 1994 he commanded Mobilization Station, Chicago &mdash; the largest of the 47 Marine Corps Mobilization Stations.

During 1995, he served as a Special Staff Officer at Marine Corps Reserve Support Command, Overland Park, Kansas. In 1996, he became Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander, I Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element, Camp Pendleton, California. In late 1997, he transferred to 4th Marine Aircraft Wing Headquarters, New Orleans, Louisiana, to serve as Assistant Chief of Staff/G-1. Promoted to Brigadier General, he became Deputy Commander, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

Transferred in June 1998 to Headquarters, Marine Forces Europe, Stuttgart, Germany, he served as Deputy Commander. Recalled to active duty from April to July 1999, he was dual-hatted as EUCOM, Deputy J-3A. He then commanded II Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, until assuming command of 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, New Orleans, Louisiana in August 2000.

In September 2002, he assumed command of the 4th Force Service Support Group, New Orleans, Louisiana. He also served as Chairman of the Secretary of the Navy’s Marine Corps Reserve Policy Board from 2001 to 2003.

Returning to active duty in October 2003, he served as Director, Reserve Affairs, Quantico, Virginia.

He began his final assignment, command of Marine Forces Reserve/Marine Forces North, on June 10, 2005. He relinquished that command in October 2009, and retired from active duty in December of that year.

2016 campaign
Bergman won the Republican primary in Michigan's 1st congressional district in August 2016. He defeated Democratic nominee Lon Johnson and Libertarian nominee Diane Bostow in the November 2016 general election. Bergman, who was elected to succeed retiring Republican Representative Dan Benishek, won 55% of the vote to Johnson's 40% and Bostow's 4%.

The district covers the entirety of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Tenure
Rep. Bergman assumed office on January 3, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Study Committee.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on the Budget
 * Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Federal Lands
 * Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chairman)

Awards and decorations
Bergman's military awards include:

Personal life
Bergman lives in a home that he built in Watersmeet, a small town on the Wisconsin border in the Upper Peninsula, with his wife Cindy. They have eight grandchildren.