Compass Points - Everything Fine?
Everything seems good until it is not good.
Compass Points - Everything Fine?
Everything seems good until it is not good.
June 4, 2026
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Nearly 7 years ago, when the Marine Corps began its controversial Force Design plan to alter the focus of the Marine Corps, the dubious plan received little scrutiny from either inside the Marine Corps’ own Combat Development Command, or from outside the Marine Corps from the Department of the Navy and Defense, or from Congress. The plan to change the Marine Corps priority from global crisis response, to small sensor and missile units off the coast of China received little scrutiny because the Marine Corps blithely told the DON, DOD, and Congress that the plan would not require any extra funding.
The DON, DOD, and Congress must have thought, ‘the Marine Corps wants to make some internal organizational changes that will not cost any more funding?’ The DON, DOD, and Congress all said, ‘fine, go right ahead.’ As the years have gone by, to most outsiders at the DON, DOD, and Congress, everything still seems fine with the Marine Corps. Nothing to worry about.
If there is nothing to worry about in the Marine Corps, why worry? The vast majority of outsiders in the DON, DOD, and Congress have neither the time nor interest to dig into the details. They would rather just say, ‘everything is fine’ and move on.
The problem is everything always seems fine to outsiders, until things are not fine.
Two examples.
For years, everything has been fine at the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC). Their motto is, “NAN DEMO DEKIMASU!” which means, “We Can Do Anything!” Their mission is to keep the ships of the 7th Fleet always repaired and ready.
Everything was fine at the SRF-JRMC until it was suddenly not fine.
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YOKOSUKA, Japan – The commanding officer, the executive officer and the command master chief of U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) were relieved June 3, 2026, due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command.
Rear Adm. Dan Lannamann, commander of Navy Regional Maintenance Center (CNRMC), relieved Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Howell of duties as SRF-JRMC commanding officer, executive officer and command master chief, respectively.
. . . SRF-JRMC is located in Yokosuka, Japan, and provides intermediate-level and depot-level repair for Navy ships and U.S. 7th Fleet.
-- US Navy Press Office
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A world away from Yokosuka, a different example of how everything is fine until it is not fine. For years, everything seemed fine at the I-35W Highway Bridge in Minneapolis, MN. It was all fine, until one morning when the bridge suddenly collapsed into the water.
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About 6:05 p.m. central daylight time on Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the eight-lane, 1,907-foot-long I‑35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, experienced a catastrophic failure in the main span of the deck truss. As a result, 1,000 feet of the deck truss collapsed, with about 456 feet of the main span falling 108 feet into the 15-foot-deep river. A total of 111 vehicles were on the portion of the bridge that collapsed. Of these, 17 were recovered from the water. As a result of the bridge collapse, 13 people died, and 145 people were injured.
-- NTSB
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Whether it is Navy ship repair facilities in Japan, or bridges in Minneapolis, everything is fine until it is not fine.
Is everything fine with the Marine Corps?
How is the Marine Corps doing today?
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-- The Marine Corps cut infantry battalions and the number of Marines in the remaining battalions. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps has discarded all its armor and Marines no longer even train with armor. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps has drastically cut its tubed artillery. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps has cut its bridging, breaching, and mine clearing capabilities. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps has cut aviation and aviation support. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps’ primary infantry division forward deployed in the Far East, the 3rd Marine Division, has been cut so much, it has very little infantry. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps suddenly closed its elite sniper school and now has no snipers. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps has changed its focus to placing a string of sensor and missile units off the coast of China, but none of these units are in place and operational. Is everything fine?
-- The Marine Corps does not have enough amphibious warships it needs for global operations, nor enough pre-positioning support ships. Is everything fine?
-- Marine leaders no longer are trained to focus on crucial Marine Corps capabilities including, combined arms, maneuver warfare, and global crisis response. Is everything fine?
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Some well meaning but uniformed outsiders today say that everything must still be fine with Marine Corps’ combined arms capabilities, because most outsiders at the DON, DOD, and Congress continue to assume everything is fine.
Everything was fine with the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility in the Far East until June 3, 2026 when the Navy announced, “Navy Relieves . . . Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Command Master Chief”
Everything was fine with the I-35W Highway Bridge in Minneapolis, MN until it suddenly collapsed into the water.
Everything is always fine, until it is not fine.
Everything looks fine to outsiders who glance quickly from a distance, but it takes the dogged and determined to dig into the details and push to have mistakes reviewed and corrected early, before leaders are abruptly removed and bridges abruptly collapse.
Compass Points salutes all those dogged and determined Marines who are digging into the details today so that in the future when the Nation calls on the middle weight, combined arms, global force of Marines, everything will be more than just fine, the Marine Corps will once again be most ready when the Nation is least ready.
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US Navy Press Office - 06/03/2026
Navy Relieves U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Command Master Chief
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NTSB Investigations
Collapse of I-35W Highway Bridge
Investigation ID - HWY07MH024
Event Date - 8/1/2007
Location - Minneapolis, MN
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/HWY07MH024.aspx
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Totally agree, I wonder when politicians on both side of the aisle will wake up and find that Horse in their bed. We can't seem to get the message across that the Marine Corps of today can't perform all of the duties that Article 10 says we should be capable of. FD 2030 is a complete wreck and should be immediately reversed.
"he Marine Corps has drastically cut its tubed artillery. Is everything fine?" Every other major country with a military are looking at ways to improve their artillery - faster loading, more maneuverable and quicker positioning, and better protection...except the US Marine Corps. I had the honor and pleasure to serve in Vietnam with Chuck Krulak, Tony Zinni and Joe Hoar who understood the value of artillery as a direct support of infantry operations. I was an FO with India 3/12, a 105 mm battery, an FDO and XO with Whiskey 2/12, a Howtar (look it up!) battery that was helicoper transportable, an artillery advisor with the Vietname Marine (outstanding cannon-cockers) and the battery commander with Kilo4/11 at the start and during the next 6 months of TET 1968. I saw what COFRAM (DPICM) rourds did to "dig in" VC and NVA units. The Marfine Corps leadership needs to lead, put the current Force Design in a buring dumpster and figure out how we get our MAGTF Marine Corps back. Given the state of the current DoD leadership, I am not holding my breath...