I'm in no hurry to jump in the middle of a Rwanda/Congo fight but we should certainly have the capability of putting a real MAGTF (one with tanks, arty and engineers) into action in order to evacuate Americans when required. Without that capability, we can no longer claim to be the nation's 911 force.
“Unfortunately, there are no ARG/MEUs ready to be sent to the Congo.
What needs to happen here is the USAFRICOM Combatant Commander (who happens to be a US Marine) needs to send a request to the new SECDEF with the Subject: “I sure could use an ARG/MEUSOC in the Gulf of Guinea”. His chain of command as the Combatant Commander is SECDEF and then POTUS. The lack of amphibious ships issue would be planted squarely on the SECDEF and POTUS desks. The SECDEF would then call in SECNAV and ask the question; why don’t any of the Combatant Commanders have a 911 force on station in their AOR? WTF, OVER.
The Gulf of Guinea is thousands of miles from Goma. Wrong side of Africa. Goma is slightly closer to the Indian Ocean or our bases in Kenya. This isn't a operation that can be supported from the sea. I'm confused how you think that's going to work distance wise.
Your right about Goma and I don't think it is justification for a MEUSOC. The Gulf of Guinea is justification because it has access to 13 Africa countries including Congo as in "Congo Calling". US Special Forces have been active in some of those countries but have been withdrawn or kicked out. The CCP is also very active in the Gulf countries. For example, Nigeria was inaugurated by a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep-sea port in Lagos. In addition, US Marines from 1990 to 2003 have been involved in three civilian evac operations in Libera. Remember we are suffering from a lack of amphibious ships for our MAGTFs, and I think that all six regional Combatant Commanders should have a floating MEUSOC as a 911 force in their AOR. S/F
No worries, one day the Marines will be able to fire anti-ship missiles and keep a newly hostile Democratic Republic of Congo (still think of it as Zaire ...) navy penned in to the coast.
You do realize that Pointe-Noire is over 1,200 miles from Goma, right? You're talking about force projection almost all the way across the entire continent of southern Africa. They're not even in the same region of southern Africa. I'm not even sure how this qualifies as analysis.
You do realize that the capital of DRC (Kinshasa) is only 240 miles inland? I would say that distance is supportable to conduct a NEO if COM requests it.
You do realize Marines have supported operations over distance, as part of MNF and other organizations, right? I mean, no one is suggesting the Ospreys fly right into Goma. The USMC was talking about planning to tackle the difficulties in 2014, as well as every other time it's been a serious issue. No matter who does what, distance is aways an issue in Africa. That means needing runways in the interior and near the coast.
-While the geography is complicated between Congo, the DRC, and Cabinda on the West Coast and the various Nations on the East Coast, not to mention the tyranny of distance...Compass Points assertion remains valid.
-2014 called and wants their crisis back: "“We’ve gotten spoiled,” Neller said, noting the strong sustainment support and medical care available for Afghanistan and Iraq. “This stuff is going to get harder,” referring to logistics and medical sustainment.
Col. Matthew St. Clair said while commanding the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit 4 on its recent eight- month deployment he was ready to respond within six hours to an order in a developing crisis. “That’s pretty impressive.”...""The primary customer seems to be the State Department,” he said.
I'm in no hurry to jump in the middle of a Rwanda/Congo fight but we should certainly have the capability of putting a real MAGTF (one with tanks, arty and engineers) into action in order to evacuate Americans when required. Without that capability, we can no longer claim to be the nation's 911 force.
“Unfortunately, there are no ARG/MEUs ready to be sent to the Congo.
What needs to happen here is the USAFRICOM Combatant Commander (who happens to be a US Marine) needs to send a request to the new SECDEF with the Subject: “I sure could use an ARG/MEUSOC in the Gulf of Guinea”. His chain of command as the Combatant Commander is SECDEF and then POTUS. The lack of amphibious ships issue would be planted squarely on the SECDEF and POTUS desks. The SECDEF would then call in SECNAV and ask the question; why don’t any of the Combatant Commanders have a 911 force on station in their AOR? WTF, OVER.
The Gulf of Guinea is thousands of miles from Goma. Wrong side of Africa. Goma is slightly closer to the Indian Ocean or our bases in Kenya. This isn't a operation that can be supported from the sea. I'm confused how you think that's going to work distance wise.
Your right about Goma and I don't think it is justification for a MEUSOC. The Gulf of Guinea is justification because it has access to 13 Africa countries including Congo as in "Congo Calling". US Special Forces have been active in some of those countries but have been withdrawn or kicked out. The CCP is also very active in the Gulf countries. For example, Nigeria was inaugurated by a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep-sea port in Lagos. In addition, US Marines from 1990 to 2003 have been involved in three civilian evac operations in Libera. Remember we are suffering from a lack of amphibious ships for our MAGTFs, and I think that all six regional Combatant Commanders should have a floating MEUSOC as a 911 force in their AOR. S/F
No worries, one day the Marines will be able to fire anti-ship missiles and keep a newly hostile Democratic Republic of Congo (still think of it as Zaire ...) navy penned in to the coast.
You do realize that Pointe-Noire is over 1,200 miles from Goma, right? You're talking about force projection almost all the way across the entire continent of southern Africa. They're not even in the same region of southern Africa. I'm not even sure how this qualifies as analysis.
You do realize that the capital of DRC (Kinshasa) is only 240 miles inland? I would say that distance is supportable to conduct a NEO if COM requests it.
You do realize Marines have supported operations over distance, as part of MNF and other organizations, right? I mean, no one is suggesting the Ospreys fly right into Goma. The USMC was talking about planning to tackle the difficulties in 2014, as well as every other time it's been a serious issue. No matter who does what, distance is aways an issue in Africa. That means needing runways in the interior and near the coast.
-While the geography is complicated between Congo, the DRC, and Cabinda on the West Coast and the various Nations on the East Coast, not to mention the tyranny of distance...Compass Points assertion remains valid.
-2014 called and wants their crisis back: "“We’ve gotten spoiled,” Neller said, noting the strong sustainment support and medical care available for Afghanistan and Iraq. “This stuff is going to get harder,” referring to logistics and medical sustainment.
Col. Matthew St. Clair said while commanding the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit 4 on its recent eight- month deployment he was ready to respond within six hours to an order in a developing crisis. “That’s pretty impressive.”...""The primary customer seems to be the State Department,” he said.
He added that when operating off Djibouti, the MEU was in a position to support requests from European Command, as well as CENTCOM and AFRICOM.". - https://news.usni.org/2014/04/10/top-centcom-marine-2012-benghazi-attack-changed-usmc-roles-africa-middle-east