20 years after WW2 the Army was totally focused on the Soviet threat and how to stop them from coming through the Fulda Gap. Then they got thrown into Vietnam where weaponry, tactics and even fatigues and boots needed to be redesigned or adapted to a role they hadn't been designed for. Heavy rifles (M-14) were replaced with a rifle that could be humped through jungles (M-16) with more and lighter ammo. Tanks took a secondary role, helicopters were put into the forefront, riverine gunboats replaced big gun battleships and cruisers. In short, the American military lost a lot of good men while they adapted to a type of warfare they hadn't prepared for. The myopic redesign of the Marines today should learn from this and create a well equipped fighting force that can switch roles rapidly and isn't designed strictly for one mission. Before you know it the USMC will be thrown into a fight for Lithuania, Iceland or Australia and the Commandant won't be able to beg off going there because "We're not prepared for that mission.
Let’s assume for a minute that FD-2030 and EABO were an ideal strategy, masterfully designed, equipped and implemented for utility in the South China Sea for a regional conflict that would not escalate.
The utility anywhere else on earth would still be lacking. The Corps is a global response force for a hundred scenarios expected and unknown. Those capabilities have all been relegated to a tertiary category even if it could be executed at all. What sort of leader would trade a global response force for one with a narrow mission in a specific place. Not to mention that six years later it has not been fielded and innumerable questions remain unanswered and ignored. For the last six years Marines have had to pass on missions that were once their bread and butter.
The dark cloud of reality is that, sooner or later, Congress and DoD will come to the conclusion that the Marine Corps is a one trick pony and can’t even pull that off very well. It becomes pretty obvious that it will not fund 160,000 Marines if their contribution is in a single region in a conflict that might never occur. This is a specialization mirage that leads to complete irrelevance. It is not hard to imagine a new FD-2035 where the Corps is nothing more than a ceremonial force confined to the greater Washington DC area and the flying squadrons turned over to the Navy.
The FD may come to mean Funeral Detail. It is high time for an about face and a realistic re-assessment.
I think General Zinni’s most critical point is that the USMC historically prided itself on its versatility as a global response force. By shackling itself to a narrow island-centric Force Design and divesting in combined arms capabilities, the Corps risks irrelevance in other theaters while also misunderstanding the true nature of global competition with China.
As usual, thoughtful and informative analysis by a leader who has been there and done that.
The events of just the last several months globally tell the tale of the tape. Pakistan and India get angry with each other and start to go at it. The Middle East as General Zinni so eloquently put it “Is a mess” and evolving at the rapid rate. Russia SMO has proven way more difficult than they likely thought, but there are reports that they are reaching parity in the manufacture of T-90 tanks and they have had the advantage from jump on artillery capabilities, so who knows what their appetite post SMO in Ukraine might be, but it might be something. Yet, senior leadership of the Corps continues to flog Force Design. The smartest guys in the room, refuse to listen, let alone “hear.” Those who disagree with the FD effort are now not only “old thinkers” but disloyal and destructive to the long term benefit of the survival of the Marine Corps. Their FD prescience makes Nostradamus blush, they see so well into the future. Yet, this myopic approach to one potential region of conflict against a peer foe, ignores the reality of today. Fast, volatile and ever changing. Requiring someone to have the ability to meet these unknown challenges to be far less fulsome than an outright gunfight with China. China’s Belts and Roads ambitions are fraught with peril. Dealing with emerging nations, their natural resources and diverse population by a China that itself is still emerging, and defining its global reach, whilst still believing that they are The Middle Kingdom and the rest of the world Barbarians. They may find global expansionism isn’t as easy as it looks. Just ask the colonial empires how it went for them in Africa and the Middle East over the last 100 plus years. So we watch in astounded amazement as the proponents of Force Design pile of chips dwindling from the fire sale of assets, place a marker on the same number at the roulette table. Ah nuts! You lose again. Red 19! Whoops no SIF. RED 19! Whoops no one wants you on their soil. Red 19! We have no ships, Red 19! We have old missiles and waiting for new ones….well everyone gets the point except those viciously clinging to “We are right and you are wrong, and we are winning the hearts and minds of the DoD and Congress.” Sure you are. Red 19!
Speaking of Stand-in Forces and global war: From a “Brief Review: The Fall of the Philippines, 7 December 1953” on “Fall of the Philippines” by Louis Morton US Army in WW2; War in the Pacific. (Washington: Superintendent of Documents 1953).
“Here is the first complete account of the biggest military disaster suffered by U.S. Forces in World War II. It is the story of the Philippine campaign from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of an army of 120,000 men, the largest single surrender in the history of the United States.”
The exposed Philippine archipelago was the basic strategy problem since Admiral Dewey sailed into Manila Bay until “MacArthur Returned” in WW2. The planning to defend the Philippines against a Japanese invasion commenced as early as 1937 in connection with “War Plan Orange”. A concerning issue was the “Mahan Ruler”, the 5000+ miles the relief forces would need to travel from Hawaii to Manila. For this reason, initially, the War Department stated that the Philippines could not be defended.
“The Army-Navy Joint Board formed by the two service chiefs to develop War Plans” would solve this issue by recognizing that the US Army would be needed to defend the Island of Luzon. As tensions with Japan grew, the overriding problem for the Japanese was the Philippines sat between Japan and the nearest oil fields in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
The retired General MacArthur was initially assigned as Military Advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth Government in 1935. His mission was “the establishment and development of a system of National Defense”.
MacArthur quickly formed his staff but forming his Philippine defense force was initially slow. The Island of Luzon defense was his initial mission especially the denial of the Naval Facilities of Manila Bay.
After five years of planning and exercises by 1941, MacArthur had formed a sizable defense force consisting of approximately 31,000 US Army Troops (including 2 Artillery Regiments and a Tank Battalion) and 11,900 Philippine Scouts. In addition, 23 B-17s and approximately 100 P-40 fighters. His Naval forces was a small number of PT Boats and Submarines with tender. The Philippine Army was still basically untrained and unequipped but consisted of 100,000 Philippine soldiers.
MacArthur had stated that there was only one place to conduct an amphibious landing on Luzon. The Japanese General Masaharu Homma planned and did land his main effort on the western beaches of Lingayen north of Manila (as MacArthur planned). He would also land a force at Aparri and Gonzaga on Southern Luzon. The objectives of both Japanese forces was Manila.
General Homma recognized that he needed air superiority in order to take Luzon. In their opening move, the Japanese seized the Batan Island halfway between Luzon and Formosa as an advanced air base. Before the amphibious landing at Lingayen Bay the Japanese made additional landings on the north tip of Luzon to seize addition airfields to support their amphibious landing.
In the first days of the battle US Army Air Force (B17s and P40s) was destroyed on the ground by air attack. MacArthur’s Navy Component of PT Boats and Submarines were destroyed at the Cavite docks in Manila Bay also by air attacks. MacArthur was forced into a single domain battle when he needed all three domains, and the US especially needed the Philippine SLOC to reinforce.
Japanese received two surprises in the battle for Luzon. The first was instead of defending Manila the US Forces retreated into the disease and famine of the Bataan Peninsula. The second was 70,000+ American POWs surrendered vs the 20,000 the Japanese estimated resulting in the Bataan Death March. Battle for Luzon started 8 December 1941 and US Forces surrender on 8 May 1942 with their resupplies and sustainment sitting in Hawaii. The Japanese Dutch East Indies campaign started 8 December 1941 and ended 9 March 1942.
Now some questions: If the CCP invades Taiwan will it be a War in the East China Sea, or will it be a series of CCP simultaneous assaults to seize the global SLOC needed to keep its population fed? Will these multiple CCP operations be in multiple US Combatant Commanders AOR? How will the stand-in forces developed by the Marine Corps help in a global war with the CCP? BTW - The US Marine Commandant has defined the Doctrine of Stand-in Forces. What Combatant Commanders have adopted the US Marine Corps Doctrine of Stand-in Forces and included them in their war plans? S/F
Hand Salute. Semper Fidelis…thanks for sharing your Father’s amazing life story and his “uncommon valor” as a ParaMarine in WWII. He share this distinction w “The Brute”!
General Zinni's article is spot on. In his second to last paragraph, he says, "with Marines tied up in the Western Pacific, this will allow China to roam the globe." This calls for the US to attack China where Chinese power is weak. China has many holdings in Africa and South America. The Chinese can not be strong everywhere, and we need to find out their weakest yet most valuable overseas holdings. A couple of pre-FD MEU's floating off the coasts of these locations may hinder China's move to Taiwan. But this calls for a robust combined-arms Marine Corps. The weak, missile centric FD Marine Corps, cannot perform this mission. Of the three divisions, only the 1st is close to being a traditional sized force. The 3rd MarDiv really does not even exist as a division. These concerns must be remedied.
I think that FD 2030 has been poorly executed, particularly in regard to not planning to get the necessary small/ medium amphibious ships built. Did you plan to swim?
That said, I served in the Navy for 30 years and deployed three times with the Marines during the GWOT. Very proficient with an extra helping of drama.
I don’t understand why retired Marine officers are trying to ram this global response/911 force down the government’s and the people’s throats. The military doesn’t get to choose its mission, even the Marines. The Marines have been assigned a mission in the upcoming war against China. Why the resistance? If you don’t like the mission, get a civilian job.
If we lose a war with China, it’s back to Fortress America and the global mission will be over anyway. The Army is busy putting missiles into the Philippines. Is the Marine Corps going to shirk its mission? Shame!
The Arctic geopolitics. Very recently, Canada's 3T passed a new law, Bill C-5. ( third Trudeau). Basically, he now has total legal control of all entities in the Dominion. Forget Provinces, Aboriginal treaties, anything old time legal check/balance concepts.
The USMC concern: There is no military up there: Yes, Big Brass exist to speak with Yankee PR types and enough paid staff for the military museums.
The talk of Philippines is all old stuff and old Canada of 1939-46 has vanished. The Newfoundland + Canada that defended the USDA in 1939-40-41-42 is vanished. Even the Canadian legions have emptied of the brave lads who had to fight + die so Yankee Yellloooou Belliiiies of 39-40-41 could cuddle down south with their Merxican amigoes mariachi singing neutrality!
Just a reminder that Force Design has to anticipate that a "NEW" legal structure has magically appeared in the USMC radar screens. Better to Anticipate! The Putin and Han CCP Zi Communist sleeper cells across Canada are actively at work. The DNI alphabets may be snoring but they will always be hiding securely inside the inner beltway aquariums. The inability to see beyond the greened up glass walls is of no material concern to those protected personnel. Conversely, the USMC cognition has to be global.
The most basic example: The muslim Bin Ladin HQ in South Parkdale Toronto was protected for years by the existing Putin and Zi cells. The Bin Ladin terrorist HQ "openly" ran on muslim funding, completing their 2 bombings of NYC 9-11 with zero interference from "Any" Yankee.
The USMC has 2 paths of consideration of the above facts. The DNI alphabet knew all and everything and let the muslim terrorists bomb NYC. Or, Putin's + Zi's sleeper cells have penetrated the DNI alphabet agencies and successfully lulled all into snoring a blatant security threat.
Or, does the USMC listen + swallow deep DNI, et al. "retro-shit" that there is no, none, zip current Putin and Zi cell activity in Canada and the USA. Nothing to see for decades in South Parkdale in Canada, fellas. Or, in 2025 as well.
Force Design = USMC existential considerations. or NOT.
Grok’s abridged list of required non IndoPac US Military actions.”Since the 2011 Pivot to Asia, the U.S. reduced its Middle East presence to focus on China but stayed engaged in Southwest Asia due to ongoing threats. Condensed summary of U.S. military actions (2011–present):
1. **Afghanistan (2011–2021)**: Troops cut from 100,000 to 2,500; withdrawn 2021.
2. **Iraq (2011–Present)**: Withdrew 2011; ISIS rise led to 2014 return (Operation Inherent Resolve, ~2,500 troops in 2025). Struck Iran-backed militias; Soleimani killed (2020). Withdrawal set for 2025.
3. **Syria (2014–Present)**: ~900 troops, airstrikes vs. ISIS; hit Iranian proxies, aiding Israel.
4. **Yemen (2015–Present)**: Backed Saudi vs. Iran-backed Houthis; U.S.-UK strikes (2024–2025) protected Israel, trade; ceasefire 2025.
5. **Pakistan (2011–Present)**: Drone strikes vs. al-Qaeda/Taliban; bin Laden killed (2011).
6. **Somalia (2011–Present)**: Drone strikes vs. al-Shabaab; training in Mozambique (2021).
7. **Israel (2011–Present)**: $3.8B aid, Iron Dome; U.S. deployed THAAD, carriers (2023–2024), intercepted Iran attacks (2024).
8. **Iran (2011–Present)**: Struck proxies in Iraq/Syria; B-2s dropped 14 MOPs on Fordo/Natanz, Tomahawks hit Isfahan (Jun 2025), targeting nuclear sites, supporting Israel.
**Key Points**: 2011 Iraq exit fueled ISIS, forcing 2014 return. 2025 Iran strikes signal U.S. power but risk escalation. Pivot favored light footprint, but threats kept U.S. engaged.
You are correct the Marine Corps has been assigned a mission and it’s contained in Title X. Nowhere in Title X is an MLR/SIF or NMESIS/NAM unit. In fact the Corps assigned that mission to themselves. Only Congress can change legislation.
Bottom line the Corps is in violation of Federal law.
Well done, Sir. You missed the Marine Parachute BNs. They were used to fill the Iwo Jima assault waves. If you ever get a chance to talk to a WW2 Para-Marine, they will tell you the last Para-Marine died on Iwo Jima. S/F
My intention was to qualify the Grok AI generated list w “abridged”. It…i.e. Grok 3 requires explicit instructions and repeated clarification from the user in order to get a useable response. Thanks for the correction Polar Bear.
I have a lot of respect for the WW2 Para-Marines because of their short history they tend to be forgotten. When I get the chance, I try and remind people that they were a great outfit. My father served with the 1st Para-Chute on Guadalcanal. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/robert-weimann-obituary?pid=178410426 :)
20 years after WW2 the Army was totally focused on the Soviet threat and how to stop them from coming through the Fulda Gap. Then they got thrown into Vietnam where weaponry, tactics and even fatigues and boots needed to be redesigned or adapted to a role they hadn't been designed for. Heavy rifles (M-14) were replaced with a rifle that could be humped through jungles (M-16) with more and lighter ammo. Tanks took a secondary role, helicopters were put into the forefront, riverine gunboats replaced big gun battleships and cruisers. In short, the American military lost a lot of good men while they adapted to a type of warfare they hadn't prepared for. The myopic redesign of the Marines today should learn from this and create a well equipped fighting force that can switch roles rapidly and isn't designed strictly for one mission. Before you know it the USMC will be thrown into a fight for Lithuania, Iceland or Australia and the Commandant won't be able to beg off going there because "We're not prepared for that mission.
Let’s assume for a minute that FD-2030 and EABO were an ideal strategy, masterfully designed, equipped and implemented for utility in the South China Sea for a regional conflict that would not escalate.
The utility anywhere else on earth would still be lacking. The Corps is a global response force for a hundred scenarios expected and unknown. Those capabilities have all been relegated to a tertiary category even if it could be executed at all. What sort of leader would trade a global response force for one with a narrow mission in a specific place. Not to mention that six years later it has not been fielded and innumerable questions remain unanswered and ignored. For the last six years Marines have had to pass on missions that were once their bread and butter.
The dark cloud of reality is that, sooner or later, Congress and DoD will come to the conclusion that the Marine Corps is a one trick pony and can’t even pull that off very well. It becomes pretty obvious that it will not fund 160,000 Marines if their contribution is in a single region in a conflict that might never occur. This is a specialization mirage that leads to complete irrelevance. It is not hard to imagine a new FD-2035 where the Corps is nothing more than a ceremonial force confined to the greater Washington DC area and the flying squadrons turned over to the Navy.
The FD may come to mean Funeral Detail. It is high time for an about face and a realistic re-assessment.
Readers may also want to review the article, "We Cannot Counter China's Ambitions Without a Global Strategy," which was authored by General Charles Krulak and former Congressman Paul McHale and published in The Hill. You can find the article at the link: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3916239-we-cannot-counter-chinas-ambitions-without-a-global-strategy/
I think General Zinni’s most critical point is that the USMC historically prided itself on its versatility as a global response force. By shackling itself to a narrow island-centric Force Design and divesting in combined arms capabilities, the Corps risks irrelevance in other theaters while also misunderstanding the true nature of global competition with China.
As usual, thoughtful and informative analysis by a leader who has been there and done that.
Semper Fidelis!
The events of just the last several months globally tell the tale of the tape. Pakistan and India get angry with each other and start to go at it. The Middle East as General Zinni so eloquently put it “Is a mess” and evolving at the rapid rate. Russia SMO has proven way more difficult than they likely thought, but there are reports that they are reaching parity in the manufacture of T-90 tanks and they have had the advantage from jump on artillery capabilities, so who knows what their appetite post SMO in Ukraine might be, but it might be something. Yet, senior leadership of the Corps continues to flog Force Design. The smartest guys in the room, refuse to listen, let alone “hear.” Those who disagree with the FD effort are now not only “old thinkers” but disloyal and destructive to the long term benefit of the survival of the Marine Corps. Their FD prescience makes Nostradamus blush, they see so well into the future. Yet, this myopic approach to one potential region of conflict against a peer foe, ignores the reality of today. Fast, volatile and ever changing. Requiring someone to have the ability to meet these unknown challenges to be far less fulsome than an outright gunfight with China. China’s Belts and Roads ambitions are fraught with peril. Dealing with emerging nations, their natural resources and diverse population by a China that itself is still emerging, and defining its global reach, whilst still believing that they are The Middle Kingdom and the rest of the world Barbarians. They may find global expansionism isn’t as easy as it looks. Just ask the colonial empires how it went for them in Africa and the Middle East over the last 100 plus years. So we watch in astounded amazement as the proponents of Force Design pile of chips dwindling from the fire sale of assets, place a marker on the same number at the roulette table. Ah nuts! You lose again. Red 19! Whoops no SIF. RED 19! Whoops no one wants you on their soil. Red 19! We have no ships, Red 19! We have old missiles and waiting for new ones….well everyone gets the point except those viciously clinging to “We are right and you are wrong, and we are winning the hearts and minds of the DoD and Congress.” Sure you are. Red 19!
“Old thinkers” made me think of a remark attributed to Leon Trotsky, to wit: “Want a new idea? Read an old book”
Speaking of Stand-in Forces and global war: From a “Brief Review: The Fall of the Philippines, 7 December 1953” on “Fall of the Philippines” by Louis Morton US Army in WW2; War in the Pacific. (Washington: Superintendent of Documents 1953).
“Here is the first complete account of the biggest military disaster suffered by U.S. Forces in World War II. It is the story of the Philippine campaign from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of an army of 120,000 men, the largest single surrender in the history of the United States.”
The exposed Philippine archipelago was the basic strategy problem since Admiral Dewey sailed into Manila Bay until “MacArthur Returned” in WW2. The planning to defend the Philippines against a Japanese invasion commenced as early as 1937 in connection with “War Plan Orange”. A concerning issue was the “Mahan Ruler”, the 5000+ miles the relief forces would need to travel from Hawaii to Manila. For this reason, initially, the War Department stated that the Philippines could not be defended.
“The Army-Navy Joint Board formed by the two service chiefs to develop War Plans” would solve this issue by recognizing that the US Army would be needed to defend the Island of Luzon. As tensions with Japan grew, the overriding problem for the Japanese was the Philippines sat between Japan and the nearest oil fields in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
The retired General MacArthur was initially assigned as Military Advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth Government in 1935. His mission was “the establishment and development of a system of National Defense”.
MacArthur quickly formed his staff but forming his Philippine defense force was initially slow. The Island of Luzon defense was his initial mission especially the denial of the Naval Facilities of Manila Bay.
After five years of planning and exercises by 1941, MacArthur had formed a sizable defense force consisting of approximately 31,000 US Army Troops (including 2 Artillery Regiments and a Tank Battalion) and 11,900 Philippine Scouts. In addition, 23 B-17s and approximately 100 P-40 fighters. His Naval forces was a small number of PT Boats and Submarines with tender. The Philippine Army was still basically untrained and unequipped but consisted of 100,000 Philippine soldiers.
MacArthur had stated that there was only one place to conduct an amphibious landing on Luzon. The Japanese General Masaharu Homma planned and did land his main effort on the western beaches of Lingayen north of Manila (as MacArthur planned). He would also land a force at Aparri and Gonzaga on Southern Luzon. The objectives of both Japanese forces was Manila.
General Homma recognized that he needed air superiority in order to take Luzon. In their opening move, the Japanese seized the Batan Island halfway between Luzon and Formosa as an advanced air base. Before the amphibious landing at Lingayen Bay the Japanese made additional landings on the north tip of Luzon to seize addition airfields to support their amphibious landing.
In the first days of the battle US Army Air Force (B17s and P40s) was destroyed on the ground by air attack. MacArthur’s Navy Component of PT Boats and Submarines were destroyed at the Cavite docks in Manila Bay also by air attacks. MacArthur was forced into a single domain battle when he needed all three domains, and the US especially needed the Philippine SLOC to reinforce.
Japanese received two surprises in the battle for Luzon. The first was instead of defending Manila the US Forces retreated into the disease and famine of the Bataan Peninsula. The second was 70,000+ American POWs surrendered vs the 20,000 the Japanese estimated resulting in the Bataan Death March. Battle for Luzon started 8 December 1941 and US Forces surrender on 8 May 1942 with their resupplies and sustainment sitting in Hawaii. The Japanese Dutch East Indies campaign started 8 December 1941 and ended 9 March 1942.
Now some questions: If the CCP invades Taiwan will it be a War in the East China Sea, or will it be a series of CCP simultaneous assaults to seize the global SLOC needed to keep its population fed? Will these multiple CCP operations be in multiple US Combatant Commanders AOR? How will the stand-in forces developed by the Marine Corps help in a global war with the CCP? BTW - The US Marine Commandant has defined the Doctrine of Stand-in Forces. What Combatant Commanders have adopted the US Marine Corps Doctrine of Stand-in Forces and included them in their war plans? S/F
Other than IndoPacom what combatant commander wants to get the, a, SIF etc..
Hand Salute. Semper Fidelis…thanks for sharing your Father’s amazing life story and his “uncommon valor” as a ParaMarine in WWII. He share this distinction w “The Brute”!
General Zinni's article is spot on. In his second to last paragraph, he says, "with Marines tied up in the Western Pacific, this will allow China to roam the globe." This calls for the US to attack China where Chinese power is weak. China has many holdings in Africa and South America. The Chinese can not be strong everywhere, and we need to find out their weakest yet most valuable overseas holdings. A couple of pre-FD MEU's floating off the coasts of these locations may hinder China's move to Taiwan. But this calls for a robust combined-arms Marine Corps. The weak, missile centric FD Marine Corps, cannot perform this mission. Of the three divisions, only the 1st is close to being a traditional sized force. The 3rd MarDiv really does not even exist as a division. These concerns must be remedied.
I think that FD 2030 has been poorly executed, particularly in regard to not planning to get the necessary small/ medium amphibious ships built. Did you plan to swim?
That said, I served in the Navy for 30 years and deployed three times with the Marines during the GWOT. Very proficient with an extra helping of drama.
I don’t understand why retired Marine officers are trying to ram this global response/911 force down the government’s and the people’s throats. The military doesn’t get to choose its mission, even the Marines. The Marines have been assigned a mission in the upcoming war against China. Why the resistance? If you don’t like the mission, get a civilian job.
If we lose a war with China, it’s back to Fortress America and the global mission will be over anyway. The Army is busy putting missiles into the Philippines. Is the Marine Corps going to shirk its mission? Shame!
The Arctic geopolitics. Very recently, Canada's 3T passed a new law, Bill C-5. ( third Trudeau). Basically, he now has total legal control of all entities in the Dominion. Forget Provinces, Aboriginal treaties, anything old time legal check/balance concepts.
The USMC concern: There is no military up there: Yes, Big Brass exist to speak with Yankee PR types and enough paid staff for the military museums.
The talk of Philippines is all old stuff and old Canada of 1939-46 has vanished. The Newfoundland + Canada that defended the USDA in 1939-40-41-42 is vanished. Even the Canadian legions have emptied of the brave lads who had to fight + die so Yankee Yellloooou Belliiiies of 39-40-41 could cuddle down south with their Merxican amigoes mariachi singing neutrality!
Just a reminder that Force Design has to anticipate that a "NEW" legal structure has magically appeared in the USMC radar screens. Better to Anticipate! The Putin and Han CCP Zi Communist sleeper cells across Canada are actively at work. The DNI alphabets may be snoring but they will always be hiding securely inside the inner beltway aquariums. The inability to see beyond the greened up glass walls is of no material concern to those protected personnel. Conversely, the USMC cognition has to be global.
The most basic example: The muslim Bin Ladin HQ in South Parkdale Toronto was protected for years by the existing Putin and Zi cells. The Bin Ladin terrorist HQ "openly" ran on muslim funding, completing their 2 bombings of NYC 9-11 with zero interference from "Any" Yankee.
The USMC has 2 paths of consideration of the above facts. The DNI alphabet knew all and everything and let the muslim terrorists bomb NYC. Or, Putin's + Zi's sleeper cells have penetrated the DNI alphabet agencies and successfully lulled all into snoring a blatant security threat.
Or, does the USMC listen + swallow deep DNI, et al. "retro-shit" that there is no, none, zip current Putin and Zi cell activity in Canada and the USA. Nothing to see for decades in South Parkdale in Canada, fellas. Or, in 2025 as well.
Force Design = USMC existential considerations. or NOT.
Grok’s abridged list of required non IndoPac US Military actions.”Since the 2011 Pivot to Asia, the U.S. reduced its Middle East presence to focus on China but stayed engaged in Southwest Asia due to ongoing threats. Condensed summary of U.S. military actions (2011–present):
1. **Afghanistan (2011–2021)**: Troops cut from 100,000 to 2,500; withdrawn 2021.
2. **Iraq (2011–Present)**: Withdrew 2011; ISIS rise led to 2014 return (Operation Inherent Resolve, ~2,500 troops in 2025). Struck Iran-backed militias; Soleimani killed (2020). Withdrawal set for 2025.
3. **Syria (2014–Present)**: ~900 troops, airstrikes vs. ISIS; hit Iranian proxies, aiding Israel.
4. **Yemen (2015–Present)**: Backed Saudi vs. Iran-backed Houthis; U.S.-UK strikes (2024–2025) protected Israel, trade; ceasefire 2025.
5. **Pakistan (2011–Present)**: Drone strikes vs. al-Qaeda/Taliban; bin Laden killed (2011).
6. **Somalia (2011–Present)**: Drone strikes vs. al-Shabaab; training in Mozambique (2021).
7. **Israel (2011–Present)**: $3.8B aid, Iron Dome; U.S. deployed THAAD, carriers (2023–2024), intercepted Iran attacks (2024).
8. **Iran (2011–Present)**: Struck proxies in Iraq/Syria; B-2s dropped 14 MOPs on Fordo/Natanz, Tomahawks hit Isfahan (Jun 2025), targeting nuclear sites, supporting Israel.
**Key Points**: 2011 Iraq exit fueled ISIS, forcing 2014 return. 2025 Iran strikes signal U.S. power but risk escalation. Pivot favored light footprint, but threats kept U.S. engaged.
You are correct the Marine Corps has been assigned a mission and it’s contained in Title X. Nowhere in Title X is an MLR/SIF or NMESIS/NAM unit. In fact the Corps assigned that mission to themselves. Only Congress can change legislation.
Bottom line the Corps is in violation of Federal law.
World War II Marine Corps….Grok”**U.S. Marine Corps Force Composition in WWII (Summary)**:
- **Total Strength**: ~475,000–485,833 Marines at peak (1945), up from 19,000 in 1940.
- **Ground Forces**: ~120,000 men in six divisions (1st–6th, ~17,000–20,000 each):
- **1st**: Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Okinawa.
- **2nd**: Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian.
- **3rd**: Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima.
- **4th**: Roi-Namur, Saipan, Iwo Jima.
- **5th**: Iwo Jima.
- **6th**: Okinawa (formed 1944).
- **Aviation**: ~145,000 men, 4 Marine Aircraft Wings, 132 squadrons (fighters, bombers).
- **Support/Other**: ~210,000 in logistics, defense battalions (~20), raiders (~4), Women’s Reserve (~20,000).
- **Role**: Pacific Theater amphibious assaults; ~19,700 killed, ~67,200 wounded.
- **Contrast**: Unlike post-2011 Southwest Asia’s light footprint (e.g., 2025 Iran strikes), WWII used massive ground/air forces.
**Notes**: Divisions were core to Pacific victories. For specifics (e.g., unit details), I can dive deeper or check X.”…
Well done, Sir. You missed the Marine Parachute BNs. They were used to fill the Iwo Jima assault waves. If you ever get a chance to talk to a WW2 Para-Marine, they will tell you the last Para-Marine died on Iwo Jima. S/F
My intention was to qualify the Grok AI generated list w “abridged”. It…i.e. Grok 3 requires explicit instructions and repeated clarification from the user in order to get a useable response. Thanks for the correction Polar Bear.
I have a lot of respect for the WW2 Para-Marines because of their short history they tend to be forgotten. When I get the chance, I try and remind people that they were a great outfit. My father served with the 1st Para-Chute on Guadalcanal. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/robert-weimann-obituary?pid=178410426 :)