The phrase “ ongoing campaign of learning…” is a curious phrase when you make massive divestment decisions without a clear picture of where you might be going. That is precisely what FD-2030 did. “I don’t really know what I want, but what I have is not it.” That is an indication of deep seated mental illness. No rational organization operates that way. It is a a hallmark of irresponsible behavior, poor planning, if any occurred at all, and gross ignorance. One wonders which brilliant individual thought the Marine Corps could with draw from world events to reinvent itself in what now appears to be a 15 year process. Words simply fail me as I reviewed what happened and continues to happen. Gen Berger, single handedly decided that long range, Chinese hypersonic missiles had so radically changed the paradigm that he needed to rebuild the Corps for a new mission. Anyone seen one of those missiles hit a moving warship? Some pundits raised their hands in defeat claiming there was no defense against the missiles. Seems to me conventional forces were once declared dead by AirPower, Nuclear weapons, guerrilla warfare, satellites, electronic jamming, fossil fuel short falls and a host of other “modern developments.” The Pentomic Army lasted less than five years.
It is high time to stop FD-2030 in its tracks. Rebuild the MAGTF and give it additional anti air ( drones, planes, Helos and missiles) capabilities. If the Corps decides it wants a ship killing capability let it stand up a Bn in each of the Artillery Regiments.
The good news is (small victory) the SECNAV is back to 31 amphibs in the Construction Plan. “The 31 amphibious ships are to include not less than 10 LHA/LHD-type “big deck” amphibious assault ships, with the remaining amphibious ships within the total of not less than 31 amphibious ships being LPD/LSD-type amphibious ships.´ Unfortunately, we can’t thank General Burger for this small victory. We can thank Senator Sullivan for holding the SECNAV feet to the fire…”31 amphibs is the LAW”.
My issue is after reading the new Long-Range Plan is I don’t know how they added the amphib ships? The other question is what is SECNAV doing to solve the shipyard maintenance problem?
Divest to invest! What about the crisises of today? The Marine Corps is supposed to be a force in readiness. We don't have the ships to get there, and once we do get there, we may be too light. All for a pipe dream. I can imagine the news headlines: The "Stand In Forces: Have Landed!
HMA-269 at MCAS New River, NC was my transition squadron from CH-46s to AH-1Js. A finer group of combat helo pilots was hard to find. I flew many times with Capt. Joe Gallo, one of the best! He would later lose his life in AV-8As at Yuma.
So…..the Yankee Army is reducing force structure while initiating a Retiree Recall. It appears that they may have a yet to be diagnosed mental health challenge?Army Seeking Retirees To Come Back To Work Amid Manpower Crisis
U.S. Army M1 Abrams Crew
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Poleski)
Daily Caller News Foundation logo
MICAELA BURROW
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, DEFENSE
March 22, 2024
3:46 PM ET
FONT SIZE:
The Army is seeking to bring back retired soldiers to fill critical manpower shortages, according to a service-wide directive published this week.
The All Army Activities (ALARACT) document describes how Army retirees can find and apply for open positions and aims to maintain a sufficient number of personnel to fill all of the Army’s authorized positions. The message comes as the service has publicly acknowledged struggles to balance a shrinking workforce with the demands of sprawling global mission sets as recruitment woes persist for a third year in a row.
France is feeling the heat : “France might requisition arms producers to speed up production to help Ukraine
By Reuters
March 26, 20246:27 AM CDTUpdated 2 days ago
French President Macron hosts Qatari Emir Al Thani in Paris
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives to attend a state dinner organised by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
PARIS, March 26 (Reuters) - French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday he was prepared to use his powers to requisition industrial capacities or impose priorities to weapon makers to speed up production of arms and shells needed on the battlefield in Ukraine and elsewhere.
"These questions ... are clearly on the table", Lecornu told a news conference, adding stocks and production lines were particularly strained with regard to anti-air missiles and artillery shells.
Lecornu said he could requisition stocks or tell companies to give priority to certain orders, citing Aster missiles produced by MBDA as a potential case for such a move.”
Foreign demand for French-produced arms was high, especially for anti-defence, artillery and radar systems exposed in Ukraine, Lecornu said, but the country's defence industry is struggling to keep up.
"We have missed out on certain contracts with Eastern Europe countries for whom the criterion
Meanwhile the WSJ recently reported that the US is attempting to increase 155mm round production to 1 million rounds annually. Ukraine and Israel etc etc apparently still find towed artillery useful.
The General seems to contradict himself. The future is ‘not bright’ for towed artillery, Army general says
Light infantry units also need more indirect fire systems, Gen. Rainey said.
SAM SKOVE | MARCH 27, 2024 07:49 PM ET
ARMY UKRAINE
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—The Army’s towed howitzers, many of which have been sent to Ukraine, are becoming increasingly obsolete, U.S. Army Futures Command head Gen. James Rainey said Wednesday.
“I personally believe that we have witnessed the end of the effectiveness of towed artillery,” Rainey said here at the AUSA Global Force conference. “The future is not bright for towed artillery.”
Drones are like any other means of warfare subject to counter measures. Israel’s Merkava Mark IV Tanks Are More Drone-Proof Than Other Tanks use your favorite search engine to find the rest of the article.
David Axe
Forbes Staff
I write about ships, planes, tanks, drones, missiles and satellites.
Follow
0
Merkava Mark IVs.
Merkava Mark IVs.WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Tiny, explosives-laden drones are a serious threat to tanks and other armored vehicles.
Grenade-dropping quadcopters and self-exploding first-person-view racing drones—both available off-the-shelf for just a few thousand dollars—have knocked out multimillion-dollar tanks, hundreds of them, on both sides of Russia’s 21-month wider war on Ukraine.
And now terror group Hamas is deploying them against Israel’s tanks, too. But Israel’s Merkava—fitted with composite armor, a 120-millimeter smoothbore cannon and day-night optics—is better-equipped than most tanks to survive drone attacks. Or at least to protect its crew.
As part of its infiltration of southern Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7—and subsequent murder and abduction of hundreds of Israelis and foreigners—Hamas terrorists struck Israeli outposts along the 40-mile border wall separating Israel from the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip, Hamas’ main base.
Seventy-ton, four-crew Merkava tanks long have patrolled the border. Some of them came under attack by Hamas’ grenade-dropping drones. Hamas videos depict at least two successful strikes on what appear to be examples of the mainstay Merkava Mark IV.
In both cases, the tanks burned. At first glance, it might appear the drones’ grenades, weighing no more than a couple of pounds, penetrated the thin top armor on the Merkavas’ turrets. In general, that’s how Ukrainian and Russian drones respectively knock out Russian and Ukrainian tanks.
Stuck in a FD Loop Back! Why are Marines building ships/boats manned or unmanned? What kind of resupply over long distances via Drone w a 150 lb payload could be effective?MARINE CORPS TIMES
58) Marines expect ‘big year’ for drone, ship and logistics testing
An autonomous low-profile vessel stands by at the Del Mar Boat Basin as part of Project Convergence Capstone Four, Feb. 23, 2024 at Camp Pendleton, California. (Kevin Ray J. Salvador/Marine Corps)
The Marine Corps’ second in command expects a “big year” for the service’s efforts at using aerial drones and maritime platforms to solve logistical challenges in the Pacific.
Assistant Commandant Gen. Christopher Mahoney on Tuesday listed various logistics and other programs undergoing testing in 2024 in the Defense One “State of Defense” series.
“Logistics will stop you in your tracks if you haven’t thought it through, if you don’t have a system that is strong and functioning,” Mahoney said.
The Corps has been working with industry on medium and large tactical autonomous drones for aerial resupply and recently experimented with the autonomous low-profile vessel, a semi-submersible maritime drone.
“We’ll be testing all three of those this year, so big year for that,” Mahoney said.
The approaches are part of the Corps’ larger effort to find ways to get supplies to far-flung troops across vast distances. The service will continue to use its legacy platforms but needs more maritime and aerial options for contested areas.
Part of Force Design 2030 concepts includes using multiple unmanned, cheap, disposable systems that won’t risk pricey platforms and human pilots.
For larger items, the Corps is working on a shore-to-shore connector program called the landing ship medium. The current ship being used for testing is the stern landing vessel, a modified commercial watercraft that allows users to offload and onload directly from the beach.
“It is a shore-to-shore logistics connect to get heavy things that we can’t put on airplanes or don’t want to have a big ship coming in to bring, get it from Point A to Point B to move; maneuver it from Point B to a more advantageous position at Point C; and then sustain that position,” Mahoney said.
Today….the CNO published her Unfunded Priority Items List to Congress! Where is CMC’s List?
U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE STAFF
MARCH 25, 2024 6:44 PM
The following is the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2025 unfunded priorities list, that was released on March 25, 2024.
From the report
Dear Mr. Chairman,
In accordance with 10U.S. Code § 222(a), I am submitting the enclosed list of Navy unfunded priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2025 that would complement the critical investments requested in the FY 2025 President’s Budget. I firmly support the FY 2025 President’s Budget as the best balance of resources needed to strengthen the Navy’s Warfighting, Warfighters, and Foundation, in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) spending caps. Should funding above the FRA caps become available, then this list informs Congress of my recommendation for additional investments to reduce risk in executing the National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy. These unfunded items do not take priority over the FY 2025 President’s Budget and I urge Congress not to reduce the FY 2025 budget submission to support these unfunded items.
My top unfunded priority at this time is the FY24 National Security Supplemental Request, which included important investments for the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) that would accelerate new construction delivery throughput and in-service submarine sustainment. Our FY 2025 President’s Budget is based on enacted appropriations for both the FY 2024 President’s Budget and National Security Supplemental. The FY 2025 request for SIB investments are thus distinct from and build upon the National Security Supplemental Request. If not appropriated in FY 2024, then this is my top unfunded priority for FY 2025.
In addition, complying with the FRA caps resulted in tough choices in order to prioritize our ability to deploy and fight in this decade, invest in our warfighters, and build our industrial base. The remaining unfunded priorities are executable ways to enhance the FY 2025 President’s Budget with additional investments, including military construction projects. My list primarily focuses on ways to accelerate capabilities to the Fleet if funded in FY 2025 and emergent needs since completion of the budget process. For example, my top military construction priority is the Water Treatment Plant in Honolulu, whose planning and design were too preliminary to fund during the budget
The phrase “ ongoing campaign of learning…” is a curious phrase when you make massive divestment decisions without a clear picture of where you might be going. That is precisely what FD-2030 did. “I don’t really know what I want, but what I have is not it.” That is an indication of deep seated mental illness. No rational organization operates that way. It is a a hallmark of irresponsible behavior, poor planning, if any occurred at all, and gross ignorance. One wonders which brilliant individual thought the Marine Corps could with draw from world events to reinvent itself in what now appears to be a 15 year process. Words simply fail me as I reviewed what happened and continues to happen. Gen Berger, single handedly decided that long range, Chinese hypersonic missiles had so radically changed the paradigm that he needed to rebuild the Corps for a new mission. Anyone seen one of those missiles hit a moving warship? Some pundits raised their hands in defeat claiming there was no defense against the missiles. Seems to me conventional forces were once declared dead by AirPower, Nuclear weapons, guerrilla warfare, satellites, electronic jamming, fossil fuel short falls and a host of other “modern developments.” The Pentomic Army lasted less than five years.
It is high time to stop FD-2030 in its tracks. Rebuild the MAGTF and give it additional anti air ( drones, planes, Helos and missiles) capabilities. If the Corps decides it wants a ship killing capability let it stand up a Bn in each of the Artillery Regiments.
That is great news. Now, if the bridging, tanks, infantry, and snipers could all come back too.
Small Victory - Thank you Senator Sullivan
Here is the “Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for Fiscal Year 2025”
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/RL32665.pdf
The good news is (small victory) the SECNAV is back to 31 amphibs in the Construction Plan. “The 31 amphibious ships are to include not less than 10 LHA/LHD-type “big deck” amphibious assault ships, with the remaining amphibious ships within the total of not less than 31 amphibious ships being LPD/LSD-type amphibious ships.´ Unfortunately, we can’t thank General Burger for this small victory. We can thank Senator Sullivan for holding the SECNAV feet to the fire…”31 amphibs is the LAW”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rmak2yWoXU&t=91s
My issue is after reading the new Long-Range Plan is I don’t know how they added the amphib ships? The other question is what is SECNAV doing to solve the shipyard maintenance problem?
Semper Fi
Divest to invest! What about the crisises of today? The Marine Corps is supposed to be a force in readiness. We don't have the ships to get there, and once we do get there, we may be too light. All for a pipe dream. I can imagine the news headlines: The "Stand In Forces: Have Landed!
HMA-269 at MCAS New River, NC was my transition squadron from CH-46s to AH-1Js. A finer group of combat helo pilots was hard to find. I flew many times with Capt. Joe Gallo, one of the best! He would later lose his life in AV-8As at Yuma.
So…..the Yankee Army is reducing force structure while initiating a Retiree Recall. It appears that they may have a yet to be diagnosed mental health challenge?Army Seeking Retirees To Come Back To Work Amid Manpower Crisis
U.S. Army M1 Abrams Crew
(U.S. Army photo by Spc. David Poleski)
Daily Caller News Foundation logo
MICAELA BURROW
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, DEFENSE
March 22, 2024
3:46 PM ET
FONT SIZE:
The Army is seeking to bring back retired soldiers to fill critical manpower shortages, according to a service-wide directive published this week.
The All Army Activities (ALARACT) document describes how Army retirees can find and apply for open positions and aims to maintain a sufficient number of personnel to fill all of the Army’s authorized positions. The message comes as the service has publicly acknowledged struggles to balance a shrinking workforce with the demands of sprawling global mission sets as recruitment woes persist for a third year in a row.
France is feeling the heat : “France might requisition arms producers to speed up production to help Ukraine
By Reuters
March 26, 20246:27 AM CDTUpdated 2 days ago
French President Macron hosts Qatari Emir Al Thani in Paris
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives to attend a state dinner organised by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
PARIS, March 26 (Reuters) - French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday he was prepared to use his powers to requisition industrial capacities or impose priorities to weapon makers to speed up production of arms and shells needed on the battlefield in Ukraine and elsewhere.
"These questions ... are clearly on the table", Lecornu told a news conference, adding stocks and production lines were particularly strained with regard to anti-air missiles and artillery shells.
Lecornu said he could requisition stocks or tell companies to give priority to certain orders, citing Aster missiles produced by MBDA as a potential case for such a move.”
Foreign demand for French-produced arms was high, especially for anti-defence, artillery and radar systems exposed in Ukraine, Lecornu said, but the country's defence industry is struggling to keep up.
"We have missed out on certain contracts with Eastern Europe countries for whom the criterion
Meanwhile the WSJ recently reported that the US is attempting to increase 155mm round production to 1 million rounds annually. Ukraine and Israel etc etc apparently still find towed artillery useful.
The General seems to contradict himself. The future is ‘not bright’ for towed artillery, Army general says
Light infantry units also need more indirect fire systems, Gen. Rainey said.
SAM SKOVE | MARCH 27, 2024 07:49 PM ET
ARMY UKRAINE
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—The Army’s towed howitzers, many of which have been sent to Ukraine, are becoming increasingly obsolete, U.S. Army Futures Command head Gen. James Rainey said Wednesday.
“I personally believe that we have witnessed the end of the effectiveness of towed artillery,” Rainey said here at the AUSA Global Force conference. “The future is not bright for towed artillery.”
Drones are like any other means of warfare subject to counter measures. Israel’s Merkava Mark IV Tanks Are More Drone-Proof Than Other Tanks use your favorite search engine to find the rest of the article.
David Axe
Forbes Staff
I write about ships, planes, tanks, drones, missiles and satellites.
Follow
0
Merkava Mark IVs.
Merkava Mark IVs.WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Tiny, explosives-laden drones are a serious threat to tanks and other armored vehicles.
Grenade-dropping quadcopters and self-exploding first-person-view racing drones—both available off-the-shelf for just a few thousand dollars—have knocked out multimillion-dollar tanks, hundreds of them, on both sides of Russia’s 21-month wider war on Ukraine.
And now terror group Hamas is deploying them against Israel’s tanks, too. But Israel’s Merkava—fitted with composite armor, a 120-millimeter smoothbore cannon and day-night optics—is better-equipped than most tanks to survive drone attacks. Or at least to protect its crew.
As part of its infiltration of southern Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7—and subsequent murder and abduction of hundreds of Israelis and foreigners—Hamas terrorists struck Israeli outposts along the 40-mile border wall separating Israel from the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip, Hamas’ main base.
Seventy-ton, four-crew Merkava tanks long have patrolled the border. Some of them came under attack by Hamas’ grenade-dropping drones. Hamas videos depict at least two successful strikes on what appear to be examples of the mainstay Merkava Mark IV.
In both cases, the tanks burned. At first glance, it might appear the drones’ grenades, weighing no more than a couple of pounds, penetrated the thin top armor on the Merkavas’ turrets. In general, that’s how Ukrainian and Russian drones respectively knock out Russian and Ukrainian tanks.
Stuck in a FD Loop Back! Why are Marines building ships/boats manned or unmanned? What kind of resupply over long distances via Drone w a 150 lb payload could be effective?MARINE CORPS TIMES
58) Marines expect ‘big year’ for drone, ship and logistics testing
By Todd South Mar 25 at 06:44 AM
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2024/03/25/marines-expect-big-year-for-drone-ship-and-logistics-testing/
An autonomous low-profile vessel stands by at the Del Mar Boat Basin as part of Project Convergence Capstone Four, Feb. 23, 2024 at Camp Pendleton, California. (Kevin Ray J. Salvador/Marine Corps)
The Marine Corps’ second in command expects a “big year” for the service’s efforts at using aerial drones and maritime platforms to solve logistical challenges in the Pacific.
Assistant Commandant Gen. Christopher Mahoney on Tuesday listed various logistics and other programs undergoing testing in 2024 in the Defense One “State of Defense” series.
“Logistics will stop you in your tracks if you haven’t thought it through, if you don’t have a system that is strong and functioning,” Mahoney said.
The Corps has been working with industry on medium and large tactical autonomous drones for aerial resupply and recently experimented with the autonomous low-profile vessel, a semi-submersible maritime drone.
“We’ll be testing all three of those this year, so big year for that,” Mahoney said.
The approaches are part of the Corps’ larger effort to find ways to get supplies to far-flung troops across vast distances. The service will continue to use its legacy platforms but needs more maritime and aerial options for contested areas.
Part of Force Design 2030 concepts includes using multiple unmanned, cheap, disposable systems that won’t risk pricey platforms and human pilots.
For larger items, the Corps is working on a shore-to-shore connector program called the landing ship medium. The current ship being used for testing is the stern landing vessel, a modified commercial watercraft that allows users to offload and onload directly from the beach.
“It is a shore-to-shore logistics connect to get heavy things that we can’t put on airplanes or don’t want to have a big ship coming in to bring, get it from Point A to Point B to move; maneuver it from Point B to a more advantageous position at Point C; and then sustain that position,” Mahoney said.
Today….the CNO published her Unfunded Priority Items List to Congress! Where is CMC’s List?
U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE STAFF
MARCH 25, 2024 6:44 PM
The following is the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2025 unfunded priorities list, that was released on March 25, 2024.
From the report
Dear Mr. Chairman,
In accordance with 10U.S. Code § 222(a), I am submitting the enclosed list of Navy unfunded priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2025 that would complement the critical investments requested in the FY 2025 President’s Budget. I firmly support the FY 2025 President’s Budget as the best balance of resources needed to strengthen the Navy’s Warfighting, Warfighters, and Foundation, in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) spending caps. Should funding above the FRA caps become available, then this list informs Congress of my recommendation for additional investments to reduce risk in executing the National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy. These unfunded items do not take priority over the FY 2025 President’s Budget and I urge Congress not to reduce the FY 2025 budget submission to support these unfunded items.
My top unfunded priority at this time is the FY24 National Security Supplemental Request, which included important investments for the Submarine Industrial Base (SIB) that would accelerate new construction delivery throughput and in-service submarine sustainment. Our FY 2025 President’s Budget is based on enacted appropriations for both the FY 2024 President’s Budget and National Security Supplemental. The FY 2025 request for SIB investments are thus distinct from and build upon the National Security Supplemental Request. If not appropriated in FY 2024, then this is my top unfunded priority for FY 2025.
In addition, complying with the FRA caps resulted in tough choices in order to prioritize our ability to deploy and fight in this decade, invest in our warfighters, and build our industrial base. The remaining unfunded priorities are executable ways to enhance the FY 2025 President’s Budget with additional investments, including military construction projects. My list primarily focuses on ways to accelerate capabilities to the Fleet if funded in FY 2025 and emergent needs since completion of the budget process. For example, my top military construction priority is the Water Treatment Plant in Honolulu, whose planning and design were too preliminary to fund during the budget