Amos' SPMAGTF-CR morphing into a land based MEU.

via Marine Corps Times...

The Spanish government will allow an additional 300 Marines to be based at Morón Air Base to respond to crises in Africa, the Defense Department announced Monday.
The Marine Corps has the go-ahead to boost the size of its Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response from about 550 Marines to 850, said Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman at the Pentagon. Spain also will allow the unit to remain at Morón Air Base for another year.
The land-based crisis response force was stood up last year to fill a gap in available Navy amphibious ships in the region. The crisis-response Marines can be tapped to carry out a variety of operational missions — including embassy reinforcement — throughout Africa.
The unit typically comprises about 550 Marines, six MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and two KC-130J aerial refueling planes.
Spain also approved additional Marine Corps aircraft to be based there, Agence France-Presse reported.

Read the whole thing here.

A couple of things stand out.

1.  Amos is attempting to address the survivability issue of the unit by bolstering its numbers.  This is a two part concern on his part.  The first regards his legacy.  Unless he can do a better sales job of the unit to the Corps then this will be another one of his ideas that is quickly tossed in the trash heap.  The second deals with it attempting to replicate a MEU.  Marines are tired of the second land army moniker that a few uninformed people tagged us with.  This adds fuel to that fire.  Quite honestly this is a US Army mission.  As a matter of fact to be specific.  THIS IS A 101ST AIRBORNE MISSION!

2.  The next issue is the reality of Marine Corps manning and rotation.  Why are we reinventing the MEU as a land and not sea based force?  Do we have enough personnel to fully staff normal MEU and UDP deployments, and still run SPMAGTF-CR's?  I know we have a GLUT of MV-22's but what about the Infantry, Logistics and other aircraft?  I don't think so.

Long story short.

This is a legacy move on the part of Amos that is his attempt to have the history books look more kindly on his tenure as commandant.

It won't work.

This concept gets shit canned as soon as he leaves office on budget grounds alone.

Amos is done.  No one is listening to him anymore and everyone is looking at their watches.  Its past time for him to leave.