Once again Marine Paul Van Riper senses the right time to stop ruminating about mistakes made by recent BUT FORMER commanders. We know those leaders screwed things . Now let’s act to fix it. And so he puts out a call for younger Marines to submit sample paragraphs for articles/ papers describing HOW TO FIX things and offering first class help in editing and finding publishers. It may sound oxymoronic but it’s already past time to waste fixing blame and over due to gather strength from our past, reload the power of our traditional esprit de corps and gung ho drive to follow in our belief and dedication to Semper Fidelis. So let’s mount up and move out.
Tom, How do you define “younger Marines”? How to fix it has been accomplished by “Vision 2035”, authored by living legends of the Modern Marine Corps that was destroyed by FD. If you mean proven warfighters on active duty Majors, Lieutenant Colonels they have solutions, if they surface with their wisdom, I know of a Mustang w 23 years of education, many tours in combat, he has the answers but, he cannot write about them without being pushed to the side of the road and retired. So Our Republic is in crisis. Victor Davis Hansen details this in “The Blade of Perseus” series of writings. Further General McKensie Retired provides another example of our shared predicament in his book “The Melting Point”. “President Joe Biden picked the “worst of a scenario when deciding how to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the former commander who oversaw the U.S. withdrawal there told VOA.
Retired General Frank McKenzie writes in a new book, The Melting Point, that he briefed President Biden in February 2021 on four military options on Afghanistan: one that would keep about 2,500 U.S. forces in the country and maintain eight bases; one that would reduce U.S. force numbers to 1,800 and drawdown to three bases; one that took out all U.S. forces and kept the embassy in place, and one that pulled out all American forces and the U.S. embassy.
Biden picked the third option, which attempted to keep the embassy, American citizens and at-risk Afghans in the country.
“I felt that was the worst of all possible worlds to actually pick that particular approach,” McKenzie told VOA in an interview on Monday.”. As I write this the 24th MEU, hobbled together on an ARG ;centered around the USS Wasp (LHD-1) launched 1989, with ancient Harriers, no tanks, little if any artillery, 1 infantry battalion and no MEB or MEF to reinforce via shipping or w seaborne logistics, approaches the shores of Israel, as it is fighting off enemies from 7 fronts. The “Ike” has departed CentCom after 2 extension, The TR is departing Indo Pacom and in transit to CentCom, it deployed in Jan , the Truman is in work-ups next in line to deploy to CentCom. Our Political Masters have put us in a pickle. Conflagration anyone?
Great weekly summary. Thanks to the curator/editor for their extraordinary daily headlines etc. . Kudos to all contributors I am learning a great deal from these exchanges, I also believe there is a considerable silent readership of MCCP.
Should we continue with the short sighted SIF concept, we will have singularly eased Chinas strategic approach to conflict. We will hand them the simplicity of a three tiered approach towards minimizing any impact the US would have in the Pacific. I can distill it down to BIE-Bypass, Isolate, or Exterminate. Three easy COAs, to be utilized in any order chosen. The first two would be easiest of course, and the third would require force in excess of that available to the SIF. There probably won’t be a MEU over the horizon to make a cavalry charge, so we would be solely dependent on external assets. Do we hope the Navy arrives in time? How’s the Army going to get to Atoll A? Atoll B? Suppose they need to get to both simultaneously? Meanwhile, Marines are hunkered down with their hi dollar missiles, hoping for a miracle. As all know, hope is not a course of action.
Once again Marine Paul Van Riper senses the right time to stop ruminating about mistakes made by recent BUT FORMER commanders. We know those leaders screwed things . Now let’s act to fix it. And so he puts out a call for younger Marines to submit sample paragraphs for articles/ papers describing HOW TO FIX things and offering first class help in editing and finding publishers. It may sound oxymoronic but it’s already past time to waste fixing blame and over due to gather strength from our past, reload the power of our traditional esprit de corps and gung ho drive to follow in our belief and dedication to Semper Fidelis. So let’s mount up and move out.
Tom, How do you define “younger Marines”? How to fix it has been accomplished by “Vision 2035”, authored by living legends of the Modern Marine Corps that was destroyed by FD. If you mean proven warfighters on active duty Majors, Lieutenant Colonels they have solutions, if they surface with their wisdom, I know of a Mustang w 23 years of education, many tours in combat, he has the answers but, he cannot write about them without being pushed to the side of the road and retired. So Our Republic is in crisis. Victor Davis Hansen details this in “The Blade of Perseus” series of writings. Further General McKensie Retired provides another example of our shared predicament in his book “The Melting Point”. “President Joe Biden picked the “worst of a scenario when deciding how to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the former commander who oversaw the U.S. withdrawal there told VOA.
Retired General Frank McKenzie writes in a new book, The Melting Point, that he briefed President Biden in February 2021 on four military options on Afghanistan: one that would keep about 2,500 U.S. forces in the country and maintain eight bases; one that would reduce U.S. force numbers to 1,800 and drawdown to three bases; one that took out all U.S. forces and kept the embassy in place, and one that pulled out all American forces and the U.S. embassy.
Biden picked the third option, which attempted to keep the embassy, American citizens and at-risk Afghans in the country.
“I felt that was the worst of all possible worlds to actually pick that particular approach,” McKenzie told VOA in an interview on Monday.”. As I write this the 24th MEU, hobbled together on an ARG ;centered around the USS Wasp (LHD-1) launched 1989, with ancient Harriers, no tanks, little if any artillery, 1 infantry battalion and no MEB or MEF to reinforce via shipping or w seaborne logistics, approaches the shores of Israel, as it is fighting off enemies from 7 fronts. The “Ike” has departed CentCom after 2 extension, The TR is departing Indo Pacom and in transit to CentCom, it deployed in Jan , the Truman is in work-ups next in line to deploy to CentCom. Our Political Masters have put us in a pickle. Conflagration anyone?
Great weekly summary. Thanks to the curator/editor for their extraordinary daily headlines etc. . Kudos to all contributors I am learning a great deal from these exchanges, I also believe there is a considerable silent readership of MCCP.
Should we continue with the short sighted SIF concept, we will have singularly eased Chinas strategic approach to conflict. We will hand them the simplicity of a three tiered approach towards minimizing any impact the US would have in the Pacific. I can distill it down to BIE-Bypass, Isolate, or Exterminate. Three easy COAs, to be utilized in any order chosen. The first two would be easiest of course, and the third would require force in excess of that available to the SIF. There probably won’t be a MEU over the horizon to make a cavalry charge, so we would be solely dependent on external assets. Do we hope the Navy arrives in time? How’s the Army going to get to Atoll A? Atoll B? Suppose they need to get to both simultaneously? Meanwhile, Marines are hunkered down with their hi dollar missiles, hoping for a miracle. As all know, hope is not a course of action.