I just realized my biggest problem with Force Design 2030...it focuses too much on tying the Corps to the fleet and littoral action.

 via WarOnTheRocks

Narrowly categorizing the Marine Corps of the future as a specialized anti-ship force fails to acknowledge the balanced nature of the future force. Both A Concept for Stand-In Forces and the Tentative Manual for Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations describe a Marine Corps with a developed capability to persist within contested maritime spaces as a direct extension of the fleet. These littoral forces are as much a deterrent as they are a lethal leading edge of the naval force. They gain and maintain custody of critical adversary targets while building awareness of adversary patterns and decision-making cycles. Their efforts in the information environment and counter reconnaissance fights disrupt adversary understanding and intentions while remaining prepared to rapidly escalate to conflict.

This is a decidedly asymmetric approach to the increasingly denial-focused strategies applied by adversaries attempting to counter American naval strength. Critiques that the Marine Corps may no longer be a forcible entry force omit the reality that modern forcible entry is a joint problem, especially against a peer adversary. Penetrating a denied area from the outside is a scenario that is decidedly symmetrical and to be avoided. Properly executed, stand-in forces persisting within contested spaces can gain and maintain a capability to rapidly strike targets while denying a coherent picture of the fleet to adversaries. Marine forces extend the fleet’s ability to sense and make sense of the environment while becoming an unavoidable obstacle to enemy actions. It does this as an inside force, disintegrating an adversary’s system from the inside out and providing...

Here 

This is my problem with this concept.

It ties the Marine Corps solidly to the Navy.  Back to our roots? Back to servitude and a MUCH SMALLER Marine Corps.

Think about the Marine Corps most storied battles.

Think about actions where the Nation most needed the Marine Corps to perform and perform well.

Many if not most occurred outside the smelling range of the sea water...far from the coast.

Instead of being a force that can be called on by Combatant Commanders from Europe, to the Middle East, to Africa, the Arctic and Pacific, we see the CALCULATED decision made to make this into a one foe, one region force.

That is not the Marine Corps way and goes totally against tradition.

Berger wants a missile shooting, artillery force with attached air.

The MAGTF is dead... he doesn't (neither does his acolytes) have the courage to admit that they've tossed away a formula that should be evolved.  They trashed it instead.

I stand by my previous.

Let these fuckers have their plan.  Just case the colors and rebrand the thing.

They don't deserve to link a glorious past to this monstrosity.