The Commandant of the Marine Corps is charging into the future, but some aren't ready for change

 via Task & Purpose

Most people appreciate that the services are always competing with each other for publicity, prestige, and ultimately resources. Just as a small business doesn’t try to sell the same goods as a much larger business, the Marine Corps can’t sell itself as another army, just with a tougher boot camp and better uniforms. It needs to differentiate. Unless it offers the nation something different than the Army, the Corps’ existence is in peril. America can barely afford one Army, much less two.

The Marine Corps can’t out-armor the Army. It can’t out-artillery the Army. Thankfully, it certainly can’t out-MP the Army, nor should it try. But it can out-Marine the Army. Throughout its history, the Corps has had to periodically reinvent itself to maintain its relevance. As America pivots from hunting insurgents in the desert to eying Chinese moves in the Pacific, it’s again one of those times. As Army Gen. Eric Shinseki once said,” If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

Let the Army worry about fighting land wars in Asia — everyone knows that’s a classic blunder. The Marine Corps, along with its sister service, the Navy, can concentrate on winning them at sea.

Here 

Read the entire thing for yourself but I chose to post his closing remarks as a winning example of how batshit crazy Berger's concept really is.

We can't out Army the Army?

WTF is that?

What does that even really fucking mean?

The sad reality?

Heading down this road we've switched from out Army-ing the Army (in their warped way of thinking) to trying to out Navy the Navy and out Air Force-ing the Air Force.

If you've been keeping up with the "modernization" news then you'll find that the Air Force is looking at developing austere basing in the Pacific region, the Army is getting into the ship killing business etc...

Long story short?

There is no core competency for the Marine Corps to carve out for itself in this new concept.  There is no guarantee of "relevancy"!  

For some reason the Marine Corps (yeah Amos you motherfucker I blame you for this idiocy) has been whining (and I use that word deservedly) about one issue or another for the past two decades.

It's past time to man up and get about the business of defending this country instead of reaching for the next transformationalist pie in the sky.

My one redeeming thought about this article?

It points to the Commandant losing control of this debate.  Marines ARE NOT getting in line and flowing behind him.  This concept is dying right before our eyes and that's not a good thing.  It's a great thing.

Fighting just might happen in the middle of Africa and if this thing dies then we might see the Marine Corps carrying its load, not just depending on Marine Air to be a taxi service for the other services.