Marine Commandant: Less A Second Land Army, More Light Amphib Ships

Another must read.  This time from Breaking Defense.  Same subject just a different perspective on what the Commandant said.  Questions.  If the Marine Corps is disbanding its Air-Ground Task Force (and it is for all practical purposes) then why do we need 3 Divisions?  Why do we need 3 MEFs?  With the reduction in size of the Infantry then we're gonna be running understrength Battalions.  You're gonna have alot of overhead for MUCH fewer Marines.  Additionally the Army has Infantry.  The Army has Missiles.  The Army has rotary aircraft.  If you take Berger's words to their logical conclusion then we're still not providing unique capabilities. Forcible entry is off the table.  Additionally you can practically scratch the idea of a MEU being able to be the "entry force" for follow on units.  Against a mechanized force we will be much too light to even think of holding ground.  We will be able to scoot with the best of them but dig in and hold on till the Army arrives?  That's off the table.  Quite honestly I'm really wondering why the ACV is continuing.  With his plan that vehicle makes no sense for the "new" Marine Corps.  Why is the AAV continuing?  And that's the point.  Those vehicles will be gone with phase II of this plan.

Berger isn't here to save the Corps.  He's here to kill it.

via Breaking Defense.

“We need to do less duplication of a second sort of land army and more to provide the nation unique capabilities that an amphibious and maritime and expeditionary crisis response force provides,” he said, meaning the Marines seven companies’ worth of M1 Abrams tanks are going to go away. “What we do not want to do was replicate what the Army is already very, very good at.”  

The Army is very good at fires.  With ATACMS they're very good at LONG RANGE FIRES.  As a matter of fact even with the increase of missile batteries the Army will still have more.  Oh and be advised.  The Army said that they were getting into the ship killing business!

It’s not only immensely heavy tanks that will disappear. Other legacy platforms like heavy- and medium-helicopter squadrons and towed artillery are also on the chopping block. In addition, the plan calls for eliminating law enforcement units, bridging companies, three infantry battalions, and anti-aircraft units.

While he has previously questioned the need for the Navy’s requirement of 38 amphibious ships to haul Marines across the globe, Berger has promoted the idea of a new class of light amphibious warships, lightly crewed, to get smaller groups of Marines to the fight ashore without being such large targets.

That's my point.  3 infantry battalions gone along with tanks?  You do realize that's almost a regiment of infantry right?  I guess the Marine Corps is gonna depend on the Army (again) for anti-aircraft help?

 One of the biggest surprises in the 10-year force assessment the Marines issued was the open questioning of the role the F-35 might play in the Corps’ future. It called for a change in how many planes are contained in each F-35 squad, from 16 to 10. Current plans call for the Marines to buy 353 of the F-35B and 67 of the F-35C carrier variants. It’s unclear whether this is the beginning of a smaller official plan to buy F-35Bs.

Berger affirmed this week that “there’s nothing like” the F-35 anywhere in the world, but he needs more information about the long-term costs of the plane’s readiness and maintainability.

“If the maintenance readiness of the F-35 proves to be very, very strong, then of course, like any other system you need less of them because more of them are up all the time,” he said, but, “on the other hand, if it turns out not to be so, then you’re going to need more of them, to account for the ones that are in repair, that are down right now.”

I'm not saying dude is lying and that's a batshit crazy statement, but either he's lying his ass off or he needs to get back on his meds.  In essence if the F-35 is great then he needs less of them.  If it sucks ass he needs more?  How the FUCK is he saying this kind of shit with a straight face!

I'm surprised Paul didn't laugh in the dudes face....or spit his coffee into his face for saying a whopper like that!

I'm glad I wasn't there cause this would have been my reaction....



This whole thing has annoyed me greatly but I've finally figured it out (at 4:48am).  They're slow walking this roll out.  This thing is probably so radical, so mind numbingly stupid (to people like me) that we'd recoil in horror and start writing our Congress Critters.

There is only one thing I'm certain of.  The old saying that there is no new Marine Corps or old Marine Corps there is only THE MARINE CORPS no longer applies.

Berger is making a clear distinction between old Corps and new.

Let's all hope they're getting it right and I'm spazzing for nothing.  If they screwed up (and it looks to me like they are) then YOUR kids will be filling body bags.  No way in hell I'd ever recommend this new monstrosity to a young man looking to serve his country.  Better the Army, Navy or god help me, the Air Force.  For the first time in my memory they seem like much better options.