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| U.S. Marines with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, conduct rescue and recovery drills during land-based training on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, April 13, 2021. The training solidified trust and confidence in the capabilities of the assault amphibious vehicle crew members and enforced water integrity testing procedures. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cameron Hermanet) |
I asked why but I guess the quick answer would be "why not"...I'll just roll with that.
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| U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Fernando Sulsona, rifleman, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, looks for enemy troops as part of a force-on-force event during exercise Bougainville II at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, April 22, 2021. Bougainville II is the second phase of pre-deployment training conducted by the battalion designed to increase combat readiness through complex and realistic live-fire training. |
U.S. Marines with 3d Marine Division and elements across III Marine Expeditionary Force conduct Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations within the first island chain of the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps Video shot by Sgt. Josue Marquez and video edited by Staff Sgt. Albert J. Carls)
Render of Rheinmetall Lynx KF41 with Rheinmetall ADS (StrikeShield in US) APS modules on the side. Likely a good impression of the US OMFV progrmame bid vehicle. pic.twitter.com/H6fDPQEaXa
— Jon Hawkes (@JonHawkes275) May 18, 2021
Within the span of the next 3 Commandants we'll either see this capability revitalized or the Marine Corps will die from the bean counters. Some recent Ivy League College Grad will count money, compare capabilities and state plainly that the Navy can do what the Marine Corps does now (with Force 2030) with an additional Burke or two. The Army will have developed so much capability in long range fires that this "niche role" will be competed over and won by the Army gun (and now) missile bunnies.On May 21 the 1st Tank Battalion will be deactivated as part of Force Design 2030. Join us on our official Facebook page at 1 p.m. PST for live coverage of the deactivation ceremony. pic.twitter.com/m42lovBf47
— 1st Marine Division (@1st_Marine_Div) May 18, 2021
For the past two decades, U.S. Special Operations Forces have deployed to some of the most dangerous and inhospitable places on the planet to combat terrorist networks. With the Pentagon increasingly focused on great power competition, they may soon find themselves spending more time in a region that presents a unique set of challenges — the Arctic.In 2019, the Defense Department released its latest Arctic Strategy, which noted the important role for special operators.“DoD’s desired end-state for the Arctic is a secure and stable region in which U.S. national security interests are safeguarded, the U.S. homeland is defended, and nations work cooperatively to address shared challenges,” the document said. “The agile and expeditionary nature of SOF, combined with established allied and partner relations and interoperability, provides DoD a ready capability to compete below the level of armed conflict in the Arctic region, and across the spectrum of SOF core activities.”Special operators have played a central role in the post-9/11 wars conducting direct assault missions, the most famous being the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden. But unless terrorist groups set up shop in the High North, SOF will play more of a supporting role in the Arctic using a wide range of skill sets, officials and analysts say.U.S. Special Operations Forces include Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Marine Raiders, Special Tactics airmen and other elements.“We do a lot of stuff, and frankly, the majority of what we are assigned in the SOF community are missions that are in support of the general purpose forces, who obviously in the Arctic will … be the biggest chunk of the American activity there,” said Steve Bucci, a retired Special Forces officer and a defense analyst with the Heritage Foundation think tank. “Pretty much all of the missions we can do anywhere else, we can do in the Arctic; … we’ll just do it in a lot colder environment with a lot more challenge to get it done.”
Weird.
I just don't get the mindset.
SOCOM is basically being given the "rest of the world". The USMC/USN/USAF/US Army are all focused on the Pacific with various other mixes of the general purpose forces being tasked with a few other areas. Korea is Army/Air Force. Europe is an all Army/Air Force affair. Middle East is Army/Air Force/Navy party.
The Marine Corps and most of the Army is out of the small wars business with only (probably) the 82nd, 101st and a few other Army light fighters available to support them in N. Africa and the Middle East (God help us all if S. America goes crazy but its already a SOCOM play ground).
My point?
SOCOM has enough on its plate without trying to grab a role in the wide open arctic.
Most of the world will belong to SOCOM.
No need to grab a piece of the pie in the Pacific or Arctic....
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| CH-47 Chinooks from 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st CAB conducts sling load operations with equipment from the 11 Air Assault Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, in Mihail Kogălniceanu, Romania on May.15. Falcon Response is a Dutch led exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between the Netherlands , U.S. , Germany , and Romania armed forces. This year, more than 2000 multinational forces from all 4 nations will conduct operations across training areas near the Black Sea Region. |
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| Closeup of a Wolf Spider |
Hey all. Obviously no blogging yesterday and extremely light blogging today. Lotta stuff going on. Hopefully back to normal tomorrow.
USAF to Cut F-35 Buy in Future Years Defense Plan | Read more https://t.co/hg7WkFH31o. pic.twitter.com/dG7nwh9SaZ
— Air Force Magazine (@AirForceMag) May 15, 2021
