"Too real is this feeling of make believe"
marinecorpscompasspoints.substack.com
The Marine Corps' shift under Generals Berger and Smith toward countering China has weakened its traditional rapid-response capabilities.
thedefensepost.com
It strikes me that the USMC's biggest problem is the USMC, in particular the retired Corps residing in Washington.
The Force Design relies on getting some new ships. The USN is bucking against swapping 7 San Antonios (7x28 Officers and 7x333 Enlisted = 196 Officers and 2331 Enlisted or 2527 total) for 38 LSTs (18 crew each total = 664 total per the Aussie solution).
The USN tried to buck that up to 77 per ship for a total of 2926.
The US Army would have done the job with 30 or so per watercraft (total of 1140 and not an Officer in sight)
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Meanwhile the USMC have sold the Aussies on the Littoral concept hook line and sinker.
Bushmasters with NSMs instead of JLTVs with NSMs.
42 HIMARS with PrSMs (Surface to Surface and Anti-Shipping)
8 LSTs for regional mobility.
The Aussies are going to look more like the USMC than the USMC
Oh, and I forgot the NASAMs regiment.
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It seems to me that the "change agents" in the USMC weren't only bucking the USN but also their own retirees. Hard to convince the Navy to hand over those bucks an PYs if they can point to the USMC as being "divided" on the concept. Harder still to convince the politicians to pony up if the USN can say the USMC isn't sure.
Meself? I like the MLR concept. Always have done. And given that Coastal Defence doesn't naturally seem to fit into Army, Navy or Air Force roles the USMC seems like a logical provider.
news.usni.org
