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To increase their strategic responsiveness even as budgets fall, the Marines are experimenting with the concept of a "Special Purpose MAGTF" (Marine Air-Ground Task Force), a relatively small unit operating not off ships but primarily from the land. Exploiting the long range of the Marines' MV-22 Osprey aircraft backed by KC-130J fuel tankers, such forces could react rapidly to a crisis for which a full-sized Marine Expeditionary Unit might not be available. (A somewhat different kind of Special Purpose MAGTF recently deployed to Africa).I'm really surprised that years of thinking and study is being tossed out the window to recreate the wheel.
"The crown jewel of forward presence for us is the Marine Expeditionary Unit," McKenzie said. "Well, there're a finite number of those. [The Special Purpose MAGTF] allows you to put something forward that is not a MEU but provides some of the qualities of a MEU."
I remember reading in the Gazette a couple of years ago about the Mini-ARG concept.
An MEU would arrive off the coast of Africa, multiple embassies would be under siege and in order to deal with multiple contingency operations, the MEU would split up, dividing the air wing and ground vehicles and head off to perform missions.
Under this concept the individual ships would be configured to handle everything from raids against Pirates to embassy reinforcement to even limited disaster relief.
From this thinking the Company Landing Team was formed.
Looks like Headquarters Marine Corps is throwing all that work away and reverting to a Command heavy SPMAGTF formation instead.
Pity.
We could have been ground breaking. Instead we're stuck with another gimmick. Too bad.
Small units are allowing too much individualism among the troops with less tight controls.
ReplyDeleteA larger unit must chop to a higher HQ while a Captain and his company are under a loose command, a Marine Co CO might do the same as the two Two SEALS did in Benghazi and disobey orders to continue a mission or abort without command guidance. Obama, the Military do not want their plans to be disrupted by some small unit going rogue. I'd say Marine officers up to perhaps Major or light Colnel actually have very little to do except stay glued to the general's freq and heeding his every command and never, ever think for them selves.
As was the case in the former CCCP and Warsaw pact doctrine.