HQMC gets it a little...flunks out alot.

Saw this story on DOD Buzz.  Go there for the whole thing but check out these passages....

The Marine Corps can’t sacrifice its wholesale modernization plans to budget cuts because another “bow wave” of programs await the Corps in the 2020s, said Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, Marine Corps deputy commandant for combat development and integration.

About time.  I'm repeating myself here but how can the US Army go through 3 generations of Fighting Vehicles and the Marine Corps barely make it to a second gen...doubt me?  The US Army has gone from the M-113 (with upgrades) to the Bradley IFV (with upgrades) to the Stryker (with upgrades) and are fighting tooth and nail to get a GCV going.  You damn right there is a bow wave and its here and now!

 Mills said he’s tired of hearing how the Corps “needs to return to ships.” Despite the past ten years fighting mostly ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “we’ve never left the ships,” he the Surface Navy Association’s trade show on Wednesday.

 Another HQMC issue.  The talk about becoming a second land army originated there and it took off.  I'm glad to see a little push back but it appears to be too little too late.  Just hunker down and get it done.

Corps acquisition officials also remain focused on the ACV program and ensuring it doesn’t meet the same fate as the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Much like the JLTV, Marines can’t allow requirements for the program to spiral out of control in this budget environment.
Setting realistic expectations for its fighting vehicles in light of an evolving battlefield remains a challenge, Mills said. For example, Marine Corps officials must figure out just how far Marines must plan to travel from ship to shore and determine if current combat strategies meet those expectations.

 From what I've been told the Marine Corps Acquisition officials are fired up about the Humvee Upgrades.  Why the Marine Corps is even still playing with the JLTV is doing nothing but keeping a vehicle issue on the table that should be solved.  Remember where I talked about hunkering down and getting it done?  This is what I'm talking about.  Pull the trigger and get the Humvee Upgrade (which ever is best and cheapest) into the field poste haste!

 The Marine Corps must look to grow certain portions of its force despite the future drawdown. Mills listed special operations, cyber warfare, civil affairs, intelligence, route clearance and reconnaissance, military police and unmanned aerial vehicles as areas the Corps needs to expand.

You're going to draw down to a possible low of 150,000 Marines yet you're still talking about expanding Special Ops?  How?  You're going to lower the quality if the pool is diminished.  Cyber warfare?  Why is this a Marine Corps mission?  Why isn't this given to the Navy like medical services?  Route clearance and recon?  So you're going to be expanding Combat Engineers too?  Why do we need an expanded civil affairs force?  We could leverage off Army assets!  Military Police?  I need more details.  And UAVs?  I hope you're talking about rotary winged versions...otherwise why take business away from the USAF?  They have the resources in place already!  What was the answer in boot camp when someone asked why we're using Army Manuals?  It was said, why reinvent the wheel!

Alot of these moves look like Army light.  Alot of them seem spot on.

I guess time will tell.