Compass Points - Wise Comments
Readers expand the discussion.
April 20, 2024
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What will happen next in the growing conflict in the Middle East? No one knows. No matter what happens, however, there is no doubt Compass Points readers will have insightful analysis and comment.
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Over the last week, Compass Points readers have responded online and off with a treasure load of comments, insights, and analysis. Only a few of the comments are re-posted below. Most of the full comments are available for reading on the Compass Points site. As always, comments have been edited for length and content. Several long, thoughtful comments have been reduced to just a few sentences. Often the real enjoyment comes not as much from the excerpt included below but from reading the comment in full. Compass Points appreciates the full, insightful, and professional comments of all readers. Many thanks!
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Richard M Cavagnol
The real-time laboratory that has shown the traditional Marine Corps Air-Ground Team to be the viable warfighting organization is Ukraine. Artillery, air power, support from the sea, drones, HIMARS, hypersonic missiles, and cyber support is the team for the next fight.
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The Wolf
General Berger claimed that the US Navy would not be able to operate inside of the Chinese weapons engagement zone (a term fraught with problems) because of that nation’s missile threat. The US Navy’s Arleigh Burke Destroyers have blown that claim right out of the water (no pun intended) as they have routinely downed Houthi drones and missiles now for weeks and as they did early Sunday morning helping protect Israel from the Iranian drone, and cruise and ballistic missile attack.
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Bob Whitener
3. Indo-Pacific. It is very important that indigenous forces of the Quad alliance (Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, and India) defend their sovereign territories. In doing so, their force presence in their respective countries does not upset the DOD defined Competition Continuum that the presence of U. S. Marines would cause in their place. "Wolf's" answer of the combined arms logistic, air, ground amphibious capability to back up the indigenous defenses positioned in the Indo-Pacific provides either the deterrence needed against China aggression, or, if that fails, the capability to close with and destroy that missiles do not provide.
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Jerry McAbee
A secondary lesson being RELEARNED is that for every new capability a counter capability can be developed and fielded. The assumption that long range precision weapons have rendered offensive operations obsolete is neither based on history nor unfolding events in the Middle East. Long range missiles (even hypersonic) cannot remain immune from the genius of research and development.
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Keith Holcomb
An important book "The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations" by Dietrich Dorner (German scientist: General and Theoretical Psychology/Recipient of Leibniz Prize (highest honor awarded in German research) presents research results of individuals granted full power over complex systems.
Key finding: When their "brilliant" plan started going awry, many intelligent test subjects were unable to stop, re-assess (re-orient), and make a new plan. Rather, they "doubled down" on the original plan and literally drove the system they intended to improve to complete destruction.
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Alfred Karam
It would be very wise for the Marine Corps leadership to do a full stop on FD and retool the Marine Corps back to its original force makeup. We don’t need Marines to do what Naval, Army and Air Forces are capable of doing. Watching what unfolded this weekend in Middle East ought to be a wake up call to the Corps leadership. Let’s retool before it’s too late.
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Ray “Skip” Polak
Hard to support a MAGTF with ships like the BOXER! 10 DAY TURN AROUND, hardly out of territorial water. Sad, as we try to talk power projection, SecNav can’t row past sight of the shore.
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Greg
Ah, a platoon-level loitering munition. I guess that we can do away with the 60mm mortars at the company level. We can just launch a swarm of these kamikaze drones and use them to fire the FPF.
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Randy Shetter
We all agree that the mission of the Marine Corps has been, and should be, that of a combined arms naval expeditionary force in readiness. With that in mind missiles and drones in the Marine Corps inventory should reflect and enhance that main mission. Expeditionary operations should drive the requirement for equipment.
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Polarbear
No MEBs? Knowledge of and integration into DOD’s Joint Strategic Planning Procedures used to be a forte of the US Marine Corps.
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Samuel Whittemore
Exceptional analysis and comment . . .We know the deteriorated state of all the necessary elements required to reconstitute “Supremacy of the MEF.” We also know from the study of history and from today’s operational realities that the Marine Corps of April 2024 is incapable of performing its mission as stated in US Code.
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Charles Wemyss, Jr.
One true north: the MEU/MEB/MEF and MAGTF in concept and practice, plainly proven in its brilliance and execution.
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Jerry McAbee
Today’s Marine Corps is unable to keep two MEUs continuously forward deployed, much less deploy a combined arms MEB with 30 days of combat sustainment.
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Douglas C Rapé
Can anyone in or out of uniform precisely define what combat capability the Marine Corps can bring to the table tomorrow morning? Not what some fantasy decides we might have in 2027 and not what we had in 2020, but right now.
. . . DoD is conducting a stupidity parade. Only question is who should get the “most stupid award.” There should be an avalanche of rolling heads. Yet, there is not one.
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cfrog
A few good notes in this post. A bright spot in the past few years has been the work in the SOIs to push the tactical art of employing sUAS/UAS, and adjacently, Loitering Precision Munitions. TACP local takes on a whole new meaning in this...and that's good.
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Compass Points salutes all readers who in their own ways are continuing to build the discussion about a stronger Marine Corps.
It was an honor to attend the 1989, LHD-1, USS Wasp Commissioning Ceremony.
Navy Marine Corps team all the way.
From the Sea.
Don’t fail to watch the USS Wasp Commissioning Ceremony video at the end of this comment. Yes, it's almost 40 minutes but it will make your day.
From the “Call to Quarters” to “Bring the Ship Alive” to “Embark the Marines” to General Gray’s “on-target and timeless” address, it is an honor to watch. You will want to get a fresh high & tight and head to the recruiting office.
When the Ceremony was over, and I got the hair on the back of my neck to lay down, and I knew, in my heart, the United States had no peer.
I pray there is enough Patriotic DNA still in America’s collective blood stream to win the day.
It was such an honor to see the “Gray Lady” Come to Life and Embark Our Marines.
I hope someone can get this commissioning video introduced into the Active Duty channels especially to General & Admirals.
Bring the Navy Marine Team back to full operational status. Standing & Ready MAGTF’s, ARG’s, and MPS with worldwide readiness and capability.
It won't be easy but, 1989, Amphibious readiness and capabilities would be a great goal.
https://youtu.be/x185wAXP_gg?si=tEZT-nG5XEmZJabO
Semper Fi
SteveB
Looking forward to the Wasp Amphib Readiness Group (WSP-ARG) finishing up certs, etc and another MEU getting operationally under way.
As a side note, is there any proponent for non overlapping MEUs / the current paradigm as a good way of doing regular business? I get the impression that there are some decision makers who may think 'this is fine'.