Mark Phillip Hertling (born September 29, 1953) is a retiredUnited States Army Lieutenant General. From March 2011 to November 2012, he served as the Commanding General ofUnited States Army Europe and theSeventh Army.[1] Hertling served in Armor, Cavalry, planning, operations and training positions, and commanded every organization from Platoon to Field Army. He commanded the1st Armored Division and Task Force Iron/Multinational Division-North in Iraq during thetroop surge of 2007 to 2008.
After retirement from the army, Hertling became a Senior Vice President for theFlorida Hospital organization inOrlando from 2012 to 2018. While there, he developed a successful Physician Leader Development course for that organization. In 2016, he also published the bookGrowing Physician Leaders. Since 2018, he has provided leadership courses to several healthcare institutions throughout the nation, while also speaking on leadership and national security for myriad audiences.
In 2013, Hertling was also appointed by PresidentBarack Obama to be one of 25 people serving on thePresident's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. He served as a Council member until 20 January 2017.[2] He also acts as a senior advisor to "Mission Readiness", a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of retired military leaders who call for smart investments for U.S. children. He has served as a board member for World TEAM (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) Sport, an organization providing opportunities for physically challenged athletes, and he serves as a senior advisor to "Operation Gratitude", an organization supporting deployed military, first line responders, healthcare workers and their families. In 2016, he was named as an Adjunct Scholar to theModern War Institute at theUnited States Military Academy at West Point, and in 2019 he became an adjunct professor at the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College, and was later appointed as "Professor of Practice, Leadership" for the Crummer Graduate School of Business in 2024. In 2021, Hertling received a Presidential 2appointment to theAmerican Battl25e Monuments Commission. Since June 2014, Hertling has appeared as a national security and military analyst forCNN.In November 2025 Hertling joinedThe Bulwark as a commentator and expert on politico-military affairs.
Hertling was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attendedChristian Brothers College High School, then located inClayton, Missouri, graduating in 1971. He is a member of the CBC Alumni Hall of Fame, elected in 2010. In 1975, Hertling was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in theArmor Branch after graduation from theUnited States Military Academy at West Point. While at West Point, Hertling was on the NCAA Division I Swimming and Water Polo Team, and he was active as a member of his class committee and attained the rank of Cadet Captain.
Throughout his military career, Hertling saw alternating assignment between operational and training postings, and he gained a reputation as a skilled trainer and a soldier-focused leader and commander. He has been assigned to all of the Combat Training Centers in the United States and Germany, expanding the center in Europe. Hertling has influenced the training model in the U.S. Army at various stages of his career. He served in command and staff assignments in the continental United States and overseas.
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. Army Europe, speaks in a ceremony at the new Gen. John Shalikashvili Mission Command Center in Wiesbaden, Germany, June 14, 2012.
Hertling began his professional career in Europe as a second lieutenant, leading tank and scout platoons in the3rd Infantry Division in 1975 to 1977. In 1988, he returned to Europe as a major, serving first on the staff of the 1st Armored Division as the deputy G-3, then as the S-3 of 1st Squadron,1st Cavalry Regiment (Blackhawks) with whom he deployed duringOperation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The 1-1 Cavalry was cited for its role in theBattle of Medina Ridge, where Hertling was wounded in action.
Hertling became the first Deputy Commanding General for Initial Military Training.
Before his final posting as the USAREUR Commander, Hertling commanded the 1st Armored Division from 2007 to 2009, and he was the first Deputy Commanding General for Initial Military Training (IMT) from 2009 to 2011. In the former role, he commanded the "1st Tank" in both its home location in Germany, and for 15 months as part of the surge in Iraq. In Iraq, Task Force Iron was based in Tikrit, and cooperated with five Iraqi Army divisions in security and on a "whole of government" approach. As a combined force, these units conducted many operations to strengthen the Iraqi Security Forces and the provincial governments in the four Arab and three Kurdish provinces in the north, and they contributed to significant improvement in the economic and security conditions in the region. Hertling integrated a series of named kinetic operations ("Iron") with a unique series of non-kinetic engagements ("United and Strong") to further improve stability, government, economics, and security.
As the first commander of IMT from 2009 to 2011, Hertling was responsible for integrating the initial training of about 160,000 officers and enlisted soldiers entering United States Army training every year at 27 installations across the United States. Hertling led change in several areas, including integrating new training methods into basic combat training, advanced individual training, and basic officer leadership courses. IMT revised the Army's Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills[3] and developed further training in rifle marksmanship, combatives, values instruction, first aid, and cultural training. IMT's "Soldier-Athlete"[4] initiative also brought about innovative changes in physical readiness training, introducing athletic trainers and physical therapists to training units, and integrating performance nutrition into Army dining facilities ("Fueling the Soldier"). Complementing Soldier Athlete, Hertling recommended change to the Army's Physical Readiness (PT) test, a recommendation which was not initially accepted by the Army.[5]
Hertling also taught in the Department of Physical Education at the United States Military Academy, and served as a speechwriter for GeneralFrederick M. Franks Jr. when he commanded TRADOC.[citation needed]
CPT Mark Hertling and Dr James Peterson, "Being All You Can Be...Physically!",ARMY Magazine, February 1986, pp 45–49
Mark Hertling, "Brooms and Brawn",TRIATHLON Magazine, May 1986, pp 22–23
Mark Hertling, "Dryland Training at West Point",SWIMMING TECHNIQUE, May–June 1986, pp 23–30
James Sfayer and Mark Hertling, "Fit to Fight",Marine Corps Gazette, August 1987, pp 43–44
Mark P. Hertling, "Physical Training for the Modern Battlefield: Are We Tough Enough?".[8] SAMS Monograph, CALL Library, Nov 23, 87
Mark P. Hertling, "Whence Values Come",[9] Military Review, December 1987, 16–23
Mark P. Hertling, "Insights Garnered and Gained: The Israeli Defense Forces and Operation Peace for Galilee",[10] SAMS Monograph, CALL Library, April 22, 88
Mark P. Hertling, "Narcoterrorism: The New Unconventional War",[11]Military Review, March 90
Mark P. Hertling, "The Battle Of Oom Chalouba, June 17, 2008",[12]ARMOR Magazine, Vol 104, Jan–Feb 1995 pg 26–33
Hertling, Mark P. "The Battle of Oom Chalouba, June 17, 2008: The Leader’s Role in Preparing Units for the Physical Demands of Combat." InLeadership: The Warrior’s Art, ed. Christopher D. Kolenda, 287–307. 2nd ed. Carlisle: Army War College Foundation Press, 2001. (UB210 .L21 2001)
COL Mark P. Hertling and Lt Col James Boiselle, "Coming of Age in the Desert: The NTC at 20",[13]Military Review, September–October 2001, 64–65, October 9, 2002.
Thom Shanker and Mark Hertling, "The Military Media Relationship: A Dysfunctional Marriage",[14]Military Review, Sept–Oct 2009, Vol 89, Number 5
LTG Mark P. Hertling, "The Year of the NCO: A Division Commander’s Perspective",[15]Military Review, September 2009, Vol. 89, Number 5.
LTG Mark Hertling, LTC William Graham and MAJ Louis Florence, "We Need More Engineers!",[16]ARMY Magazine, January 2010
LTG Mark Hertling, "What's Going On In Basic Training",ARMY Magazine, March 2010
LTG Mark Hertling and PFC Jennifer Prowell, "A Soldiers Thoughts on Training, Leadership",[17]ARMY Magazine, November 2010
LTG Mark Hertling, "The US Army in Europe: Fighting Above Our Weight Class",[18]AUSA Green Book 2011
LTG Mark Hertling, "Security and conflict in the Caucasus region, not frozen",[19] Foreign Policy, The Best Defense Blog, August 2012
LTG (ret) Mark Hertling, "The Real Reason Iraq is Crumbling", The Washington Post, June 12, 2014[20]
LTG (ret) Mark Hertling, "The Only Way to Defeat ISIS", CNN.com[21]
LTG (ret) Mark Hertling, "Why Fighting ISIS Will Take Time, Patience", CNN.com[22]
LTG (ret) Mark Hertlling, "A Case For Doing More in Ukraine", Military Times (reprinted in Kyiv Post),[23]
LTG (ret) Mark Hertling, "What Videos Show About the Paris Terrorists", CNN.com[24]
Mark Hertling, "A soldier's view on Trump"[25] (March 4, 2016),CNN, State of Georgia: Cable News Network
Mark Hertling, "Growing Physician Leaders," published by Rosetta Books and Florida Hospital Publishers, May 2016.ISBN978-0-7953-4808-2.
^Due to the generalized nature of the mandatory engineering curriculum, at the time (1975) USMA cadets did not major in a specific academic curriculum
^Jacek Matuszak."Sojusznicze podziękowania" (in Polish). ARMY.MIL.PL/. Archived fromthe original on December 23, 2012. RetrievedAugust 15, 2012. – August 14, 2012
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Second Lieutenant – June 4, 1975
First Lieutenant – June 5, 1977
Captain – November 18, 1979
Major – June 1, 1986
Lieutenant Colonel – July 1, 1992
Colonel – August 1, 1997
Brigadier General – January 1, 2003
Major General – January 1, 2006
Lieutenant General – September 25, 2009
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