Time to fire the deputy commandant for aviation....

via USNI News.

“You in your brain, and all of us in our brains, have, this is a MEU: six Harriers or six F-35s, 12 V-22s, three or four CH-53s, seven skids [light attack helicopters], some VMU [Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadrons],” Davis said.
But what if that combination, which includes a little bit of everything, means that the ACE is not optimized for anything?
“There are many scenarios where we would want to have the L-class carrier loaded with F-35Bs – the full squadron, 16 airplanes or more, plus four to six V-22s with a tanker package,” Davis said.
“And that could maybe be the way our ships sail for a contingency, or sail as a matter of principle in the future as we are part of a naval formation to go do Phase 0, Phase 1 strike operations. Augment the carrier strike group’s ability to project power with fifth-generation capabilities until that time when we don’t need the augment from the L-class carriers, and then you would flow ashore – because now we have long-range assault support assets, V-22s, 53s, that can air-refuel. You fly them from their bases to that L-class ship, and now it turns into its normal MEU.”

You do realize what this bastard is proposing don't you?  Instead of floating a Marine Corps Force that is flexible and capable of taking on a range of missions what he proposes is to specialize the MEU...wait...not even the MEU, but to subjugate the Ground Combat Element to the needs of Marine Air.

That's shit on a cracker.

Its past time for this son of a bitch to be fired.  But back on task.  What he's actually proposing is more easily solved by simply taking fast movers from the Marine Corps and plus sizing the squadrons assigned to Navy Carriers.  It would be cheaper, command and control would be easier and it wouldn't take anything away from the job that Marine Corps GROUND FORCES do everyday.

I didn't start this, but its obvious that the war inside the tribe is about to go from behind closed doors into the open press.  So be it.  The deputy commandant for aviation started the fight.  Its time for the ground component to pick up the challenge and put him back in his cage.