The MLR “It’s just sized and purpose-built for its task, which is to be light, lethal and austere and to be able to stand in the weapons engagement zone when others are going to have to leave because of the threat,” he told War on the Rocks in 2023.
“They are exactly what we need in the Pacific,” Smith said. “It is the best solution to the task we’ve been given.”
And that task is to enable the Navy to fight the naval fight.”
The purpose of the MLR …”is to stand in the engagement zone when others are going to leave because of the threat”.
This is madness. A war in the Pacific will not be about control of engagement zones, it will be about control of SLOCs. The MLR is not going to control its own SLOCs with 100 mile area denial missiles. They are going to be easily isolated and neutralize. Wake Island surrendered; Corregidor surrendered; Rabual, (the largest Japanese base in the South Pacific) was neutralized and surrendered after the war.
This “purpose” represents a fundamental flaw in the strategic thinking of General Berger, (and now) General Smith, and the SECNAV. What will control SLOCs is the ability to seize advanced bases and airfields. A2/AD missiles (and drones) have a role but they will not be decisive. What will be decisive will be aircraft. The WW2 Pacific War was not about engagement zones. It was about air superiority. We seized islands for their airfields in order to capture, isolate and neutralize the enemy’s controlled SLOCs
Why do I feel like General Smith is fighting wind mills riding a General Berger horse named Rocinante. The United States Marine Corps purpose is simple and clear; it is amphibious assault.
Dog! OK recall Reckless the horse in Korea who saved a more than a few Marines. Program a dog to help there, too.
Next: my take away—-Ukrainians are out gunned. Are we now out gunned? We divested our tube artillery for rockets, which may not be as useful in for door to door, danger close situations. Just a musing from an old gunner-proudly so, old and gunner!
Importantly as the MARSOC units evaluate the use of advanced technologies such as robotic dogs, the conflict in Ukraine continues to demonstrate that maneuver warfare is alive and well. There is a website CH.NZZ that has a fairly up to date interactive map of the conflict areas of the Russian special operation. On the east west front and axis the situation seems a slow grind with small “bite and hold” operations supported by massive artillery barrage. The new front, a north south axis is headed straight for (the second largest city in the current Ukraine) Kharkiv and as several reports indicate Russian units have made gains. Again it would appear weather, men, materials, and “will” are in the favor of the Russian attacks. Looking at the map, it seems they are attempting to execute a large double envelopment, perhaps by passing the city of Kharkiv, just strangling it dry of resources. Who would have ever “thunk it” the Ruuussskie forces using mass, velocity and a pant load of artillery to subdue the enemy and gain ground however slowly. Stop me, if you all have seen the movie staring Soviet forces circa 1943-1945. The Ukrainian forces may have the will, but the slaughter has rendered their forces significantly undermanned and outgunned. Putin has 150,000 men in training at the moment, apparently all geared to support existing forces for a major offensive this summer.
It all seems to underscore the failure of FD2030/Force Design 2.0 to anticipate that warfare could degenerate into the type of tactics and support required to mount a campaign of significance such as we are witnessing in real time in the Eastern Oblast of Ukraine. No one seemed to want to read or take heed of history. One recalls there is a CMC reading list, wonder what happened to the books on maneuver warfare. One wonders if Erwin Rommel’s “Attacks!” Is anywhere to be found. It was written by a young Rommel on his experiences during WWI, the majority of which took place away from the western front, and were small platoon and company sized affairs, with a lot of closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and maneuver. Go figure.
While it is dandy that Fido the wonder dog is out and about, how about the MAGTF? Anyone seen the USS Boxer at sea lately?
LCpl cFrog wants to know how far he can ride the robot dog like a pony? On a serious note, it is interesting to see how far the concept has come since the old tests of the BD dogs at Quantico. I think they will find interesting uses as semi autonomous 'faithful companions' both in special operations and in conventional forces across a range of uses (power and range dependent. Fortunately, we've leaned into the use of ground drones and this is a riff on that evolving concept. Note the article linked by Compass Points specifically speaks to testing in tunnels...that sounds about right. Having 'Astro' available to supplement the watch would be nice. Depending on range, even just having the pack mule to carry ammo/heavy-ish specialized weapons in rough and steep terrain, and potentially be a reliable shooter within spec'd ranges would be nice (the video in the attached article seems to show Astro hitting steel silhouettes within 100m). I can think of a few times in urban situations where it would have been nice to dismount an 'electric Fido' to work with a rifle squad as we pushed into unknown turf. LCpl cFrog adds: what we really need is a Combat Mecha-Tiger...and a Robot Battle Bear with twin Javelins on its back.
Let hope, should robotic dogs get fielded, that the “robotic dogs” fully understand and abide by the rules of engagement. I understand these gadgets rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI), how will AI behave? Is AI mature enough to ensure the safety of non-combatants caught up in a firefight?
At the end of the day, I agree with Compass Points, nothing will ever replace a Marine Devil Dog, especially the quick cognitive abilities Marines possess in how they innovate, maneuver and fight!
Madness
And here it is: In China’s backyard: The New Marine Regiments Changing the Fight
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2024/05/13/in-chinas-backyard-the-new-marine-regiments-changing-the-fight/
The MLR “It’s just sized and purpose-built for its task, which is to be light, lethal and austere and to be able to stand in the weapons engagement zone when others are going to have to leave because of the threat,” he told War on the Rocks in 2023.
“They are exactly what we need in the Pacific,” Smith said. “It is the best solution to the task we’ve been given.”
And that task is to enable the Navy to fight the naval fight.”
The purpose of the MLR …”is to stand in the engagement zone when others are going to leave because of the threat”.
This is madness. A war in the Pacific will not be about control of engagement zones, it will be about control of SLOCs. The MLR is not going to control its own SLOCs with 100 mile area denial missiles. They are going to be easily isolated and neutralize. Wake Island surrendered; Corregidor surrendered; Rabual, (the largest Japanese base in the South Pacific) was neutralized and surrendered after the war.
This “purpose” represents a fundamental flaw in the strategic thinking of General Berger, (and now) General Smith, and the SECNAV. What will control SLOCs is the ability to seize advanced bases and airfields. A2/AD missiles (and drones) have a role but they will not be decisive. What will be decisive will be aircraft. The WW2 Pacific War was not about engagement zones. It was about air superiority. We seized islands for their airfields in order to capture, isolate and neutralize the enemy’s controlled SLOCs
Why do I feel like General Smith is fighting wind mills riding a General Berger horse named Rocinante. The United States Marine Corps purpose is simple and clear; it is amphibious assault.
Dog! OK recall Reckless the horse in Korea who saved a more than a few Marines. Program a dog to help there, too.
Next: my take away—-Ukrainians are out gunned. Are we now out gunned? We divested our tube artillery for rockets, which may not be as useful in for door to door, danger close situations. Just a musing from an old gunner-proudly so, old and gunner!
Importantly as the MARSOC units evaluate the use of advanced technologies such as robotic dogs, the conflict in Ukraine continues to demonstrate that maneuver warfare is alive and well. There is a website CH.NZZ that has a fairly up to date interactive map of the conflict areas of the Russian special operation. On the east west front and axis the situation seems a slow grind with small “bite and hold” operations supported by massive artillery barrage. The new front, a north south axis is headed straight for (the second largest city in the current Ukraine) Kharkiv and as several reports indicate Russian units have made gains. Again it would appear weather, men, materials, and “will” are in the favor of the Russian attacks. Looking at the map, it seems they are attempting to execute a large double envelopment, perhaps by passing the city of Kharkiv, just strangling it dry of resources. Who would have ever “thunk it” the Ruuussskie forces using mass, velocity and a pant load of artillery to subdue the enemy and gain ground however slowly. Stop me, if you all have seen the movie staring Soviet forces circa 1943-1945. The Ukrainian forces may have the will, but the slaughter has rendered their forces significantly undermanned and outgunned. Putin has 150,000 men in training at the moment, apparently all geared to support existing forces for a major offensive this summer.
It all seems to underscore the failure of FD2030/Force Design 2.0 to anticipate that warfare could degenerate into the type of tactics and support required to mount a campaign of significance such as we are witnessing in real time in the Eastern Oblast of Ukraine. No one seemed to want to read or take heed of history. One recalls there is a CMC reading list, wonder what happened to the books on maneuver warfare. One wonders if Erwin Rommel’s “Attacks!” Is anywhere to be found. It was written by a young Rommel on his experiences during WWI, the majority of which took place away from the western front, and were small platoon and company sized affairs, with a lot of closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and maneuver. Go figure.
While it is dandy that Fido the wonder dog is out and about, how about the MAGTF? Anyone seen the USS Boxer at sea lately?
LCpl cFrog wants to know how far he can ride the robot dog like a pony? On a serious note, it is interesting to see how far the concept has come since the old tests of the BD dogs at Quantico. I think they will find interesting uses as semi autonomous 'faithful companions' both in special operations and in conventional forces across a range of uses (power and range dependent. Fortunately, we've leaned into the use of ground drones and this is a riff on that evolving concept. Note the article linked by Compass Points specifically speaks to testing in tunnels...that sounds about right. Having 'Astro' available to supplement the watch would be nice. Depending on range, even just having the pack mule to carry ammo/heavy-ish specialized weapons in rough and steep terrain, and potentially be a reliable shooter within spec'd ranges would be nice (the video in the attached article seems to show Astro hitting steel silhouettes within 100m). I can think of a few times in urban situations where it would have been nice to dismount an 'electric Fido' to work with a rifle squad as we pushed into unknown turf. LCpl cFrog adds: what we really need is a Combat Mecha-Tiger...and a Robot Battle Bear with twin Javelins on its back.
Let hope, should robotic dogs get fielded, that the “robotic dogs” fully understand and abide by the rules of engagement. I understand these gadgets rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI), how will AI behave? Is AI mature enough to ensure the safety of non-combatants caught up in a firefight?
At the end of the day, I agree with Compass Points, nothing will ever replace a Marine Devil Dog, especially the quick cognitive abilities Marines possess in how they innovate, maneuver and fight!