As promised I got 45 minutes to grill Jim Strock, Director of Sea Basing and the results were illuminating.
The best way to sum up Marine Corps concepts? Calm on the surface but a ton of activity behind the scenes.
What was touched on?
* The Sea Base, its composition and utility.
* Moves to incorporate the US ARMY into the concept (oh and yeah...I made the statement that they were encroaching on Marine Corps missions...the push back was expected BUT reasoned...I think you'll find this part especially interesting).
* The loss of well deck space with the move from the LSD-41 class to the LX(R)....this is another part of the conversation that will surprise many of my readers.
* The role of the LX(R) in future ARG and Sea Basing Ops.
* LCU(R)
* LCAC and its replacement
* The French L-CAT and the LCU-F concept
* The LCAC Barge concept
* The role of the MPF fleet in Sea Basing AND everyday ops.
Just like my conversation with General Mullen, I became aware of many misconceptions. What wasn't said but I "sense" is that the focus is on the possible. That applies to both tech and cost.
I'm chopping this up as we speak so be patient and watch your alerts for the posting.
You will likely have seen this, but on the of-chance you have not:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.usni.org/2015/03/11/marines-may-merge-acv-increments-as-industry-chases-higher-requirements
I am looking forwards to your article.
There is no "Army Mission" there is no "Marine Mission" there is simply whether or not we are doing our part to secure the nation and protect its interests. How we go about doing that is different, but now why we are doing it, and the end goals are the same. Don't confuse method with mission.
ReplyDeleteI won't go as far as this guy looking to end the USMC, but he has a lot of good points that should make every Marine shake their head in anger, then recognize the truth of history, then try to learn from it. https://thepopulist.wordpress.com/never-faithful-the-rivalry-between-our-army-and-marines/
Interesting! Thanks... looking forward to more. I personally like the French concepts mentioned. Likely everything in 'strategy' should be continuously evolving and adapting though, so I'd have to vote for keeping open-architecture and flexible configurations, capacity and operations in mind too.
ReplyDelete