A Post from Chowder II
Chowder II Responds
“Chowder II must advise readers that the editorial staff of the Marine Corps Gazette has decided at the last moment not to publish Part I (Our Concerns with Force Design 2030), Part II (The Problem We Ought to Be Trying to Solve: Preserving and Restoring the Ability to Maneuver in the Age of Precision Weapons), and Part III (Vision 2035: Global Response in the Age of Precision Munitions). The reason given us was the editorial staff’s desire to take the debate in a different direction, shifting the focus off Force Design 2030 as the problem and Vision 2035 as the solution.
Chowder II disagrees. We believe Force Design 2030 is the problem and Vision 2035 is the solution. We also believe that the differences in these two approaches should be vigorously discussed and debated. Since its founding in 1916 by then Colonel John A. Lejeune, The Marine Corps Gazette has been rightly known as “The Professional Journal of U.S. Marines.” We believe the Gazette’s legacy of helping shape the direction of the Marine Corps should be honored and preserved by hosting the discussion and debate on the most significant transformation of the Marine Corps in the last 80 years, when our Corps was transformed from a collection of individual regiments in the early 1900s to the world’s most capable amphibious force during World War II.
The power of the Gazette to generate discussion and debate is reflected in the numerous responses to our first article “A Preface to A Better Way Forward and its Authors,” which was run in the Gazette online on November 29th. This is exactly the debate Chowder II wants and encourages. Chowder II wants to know where we are right and where we are wrong; where Force Design 2030 is right and where it is wrong; where either or both operating concepts can be improved or modified to best serve the national interests. Hosting and facilitating this and other such discussions and debates is the raison d’etre for a professional journal.
We will persist in our effort to persuade the Gazette’s editorial staff of the wisdom and need to publish our articles for the next several days. Regardless of the outcome, Compass Points wants its readers to continue supporting the Gazette. The Gazette must continue to remain “The Professional Journal of U.S. Marines.” A well supported, professional journal is in the best interests of Marines and the Marine Corps.
Should the Gazette continue to decline to publish our articles, Compass Points will publish the remaining three articles next week. We will publish Part I on Wednesday, 7 December; Part II on Thursday 8 December; and Part III on Friday 9 December. Chowder II is confident these articles will generate a tremendous amount of discussion and debate, which we will be delighted to host.”
It is unfortunate that the Gazette has declined to publish these articles. We all should be able to read, digest, and make our own conclusions. This is a dialogue that should not be stifled.
As predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. For many years the Gazette has not been the publication it professes to be. The willingness to allow and nurture an even handed discourse has simply not in evidence. The Gazette steps away from the tough issues and reinforces whatever direction the winds dictate.