1. Just the Iranian ramp up in Missiles is a threat. For 47 years Iran has threatened to destroy us and we have tried everything to appease them to no avail. We should believe them. There is not much chance of an amphibious assault. The Marine Corps gave away that capability so time ago.
2. Any proof the three F-15’s ran out of fuel on their way home? That would take the investigation into a simpler direction….
2. The State Department has encouraged US citizens to leave 14 countries across the Muslim world in a band stretching 6000 miles. They are largely on their own. Not so long ago multiple MEUs would have been ready to conduct Non Combatant Evacuations. Right now we could use one in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific for that very reason. There are none available. Some departures may be permissive and some may come to resemble the fiasco in Kabul. Some could look like Cambodia or S Vietnam. Some like Beirut. That is immaterial. The fact remains that our MEUs are not able to do it and can’t get there anyway.
A mob with firearms just tried to storm the Consulate in Karachi. The Marine Embassy Guards repelled them with small arms. Are they being reinforced? No MEU available. Maybe MCSF are on their way. Lift via the USAF. Maybe not.
The fact remains the current MAGTF’s are a mere shadow of what they once were and we lack the Amphib shipping to keep them patrolling the seas. The USMC EABO efforts have zero applicability in the above circumstances. Zero.
Ultimately Congress is going to ask why we even have a Marine Corps or at least one as large as it is. Once you are irrelevant you lose funding and manpower. You then become even less relevant, end up obsolete and are eventually reduced to a small ceremonial outfit before finally and without fanfare disbanded. If you are an optimist you become an Amphibious Division of the US Army before you go the way of the horse cavalry.
Six years ago the Corps knew it needed some modernization of our MAGTFs and we needed more Amphibs. The solution was EABO which solved nothing and everyone who saw through the gross stupidity of it was tarred as “resistant to change”. These are the magic words to kill any opponent resistant to ill advised and flawed change. When you have a problem you must embrace a change provided it is the right change. The last two Commandants embraced the wrong change and the Corps is now irrelevant in the conflicts of our times.
The United States Marines do have a score to settle with Hezbollah for what they did to our brothers in Beirut in October 1983. Nobody ever did anything about that.
It would be good to get a signal from the puzzle palace that they”get it.” That the MAGTF is of enormous benefit, it is a Swiss Army knife of nearly unlimited potential, both in a kinetic fight, in humanitarian and in NEO operations. Sadly, it seems neither the SecWar, or worse yet, the SecNav have a clue or care to have a clue. Worse the 38th and 39th CMC’s have either done everything in their power to destroy the MAGTF out right, thank you very much General Berger and your coterie of consultants and acolytes. Or, in General Smith’s case don’t know whether you’re afoot or on horse back. So you do nothing, other than be sure your skivvies are ironed for inspection. So we wait, and the world spins and the clock is running, tick tock, tick tock….
As we know, the Marine Corps of today cannot conduct the missions for which it has for decades. Yet, it cannot perform the new mission for which it was altered to do. When before Congress, the current CMC spins stories about how the new Marine Corps can perform both missions. Worse, there is no push-back in Congress to counter his stories. In my opinion, we need to have another "Bended Knee" moment to save our Corps. The former Commandants and many of the esteemed writers on this board need to testify before Congress about the true state of the Marine Corps. We have a major combat operation and there are no Marines afloat to conduct a myriad of missions if called upon. Our case needs to be made public for all to see, so that people will understand what has been lost and why the United States is less safe for not having a Marine Corps which is a robust, globally responsive, combined-arms naval expeditionary force.
Take a wider view. Research where China gets its oil. Then it’s coal. Both of which run their economy and war time expansion. The supplier of oil as I found it was Iran and a South American nation. Neither may be a supplier. Take a strategic not a tactical view
Marines - (1) those three precious F-15E's were not shot down they ran out of gas and the fourth one landed at Ali Al Salem - still no confirmation of Patriot logs targeting the F-15E's but the tanker CAPS were called back by CENTCOM after they feared that there was a great risk from launching Iranian fighters (MiG-29's) that the Israeli's so nicely bagged two with their F-35"I"s
(2) Marine MAGTF's - perhaps all three - could easily be used to secure the Straits of Hormuz joining with Regional forces thus gaining control of the biggest access route for the world's energy (OIL / LNG) and with Venezuela in the POTUS pocket - what do we have and what is available to hand over to a new Iranian government perhaps under the old Shah's son to restart a democratic economic powerhouse whose exports have some western controls on.... hummm???
Is America ready to commit to another decades-long Middle East intervention? I can't see how attacking Iran is making me or my family any safer. I can't see how we're going to make any meaningful change in the region without boots on the ground for many years. And it's astounding to me that we're still painting Iran with such a simplistic brush and essentially still calling them the Axis of Evil. I think we're getting played by the regional powers in the ME, and doing their dirty work for them. But hey, this administration is getting lots of spiffy new business deals and got a new plane. This is a situation much better handled by diplomacy than sending a MAGTF or MEU. Maybe I'm just a former grunt looking for a reason to avoid more lives lost, but I'd like to see this tried before the 03s storm the beach.
Grok:**Revised Summary: F-15 Incident Only (No Citations)**
“Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were lost over Kuwait on the night of March 1–2, 2026 (local time), during Operations Epic Fury / Roaring Lion.
All six crew members (two per jet) ejected safely, were quickly recovered by friendly forces, and remain in stable condition with no serious injuries reported.
The aircraft were shot down in an apparent friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti air defense systems amid heavy Iranian retaliatory strikes involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and low-flying aircraft entering Kuwaiti airspace.
U.S. Central Command and Kuwaiti officials confirmed the jets were mistakenly engaged by ground-based defenses (likely Patriot or older HAWK batteries) during the chaotic, high-threat environment.
There is no evidence or official indication that the losses resulted from fuel exhaustion, lack of aerial refueling tankers, or any logistical/operational fuel-related failure. Tanker support remained active and available in the theater throughout the operation.
The incident represents the first confirmed U.S. fixed-wing combat losses in the current conflict, though crew survival kept personnel casualties at zero.”…
1. Just the Iranian ramp up in Missiles is a threat. For 47 years Iran has threatened to destroy us and we have tried everything to appease them to no avail. We should believe them. There is not much chance of an amphibious assault. The Marine Corps gave away that capability so time ago.
2. Any proof the three F-15’s ran out of fuel on their way home? That would take the investigation into a simpler direction….
2. The State Department has encouraged US citizens to leave 14 countries across the Muslim world in a band stretching 6000 miles. They are largely on their own. Not so long ago multiple MEUs would have been ready to conduct Non Combatant Evacuations. Right now we could use one in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific for that very reason. There are none available. Some departures may be permissive and some may come to resemble the fiasco in Kabul. Some could look like Cambodia or S Vietnam. Some like Beirut. That is immaterial. The fact remains that our MEUs are not able to do it and can’t get there anyway.
A mob with firearms just tried to storm the Consulate in Karachi. The Marine Embassy Guards repelled them with small arms. Are they being reinforced? No MEU available. Maybe MCSF are on their way. Lift via the USAF. Maybe not.
The fact remains the current MAGTF’s are a mere shadow of what they once were and we lack the Amphib shipping to keep them patrolling the seas. The USMC EABO efforts have zero applicability in the above circumstances. Zero.
Ultimately Congress is going to ask why we even have a Marine Corps or at least one as large as it is. Once you are irrelevant you lose funding and manpower. You then become even less relevant, end up obsolete and are eventually reduced to a small ceremonial outfit before finally and without fanfare disbanded. If you are an optimist you become an Amphibious Division of the US Army before you go the way of the horse cavalry.
Six years ago the Corps knew it needed some modernization of our MAGTFs and we needed more Amphibs. The solution was EABO which solved nothing and everyone who saw through the gross stupidity of it was tarred as “resistant to change”. These are the magic words to kill any opponent resistant to ill advised and flawed change. When you have a problem you must embrace a change provided it is the right change. The last two Commandants embraced the wrong change and the Corps is now irrelevant in the conflicts of our times.
The United States Marines do have a score to settle with Hezbollah for what they did to our brothers in Beirut in October 1983. Nobody ever did anything about that.
It would be good to get a signal from the puzzle palace that they”get it.” That the MAGTF is of enormous benefit, it is a Swiss Army knife of nearly unlimited potential, both in a kinetic fight, in humanitarian and in NEO operations. Sadly, it seems neither the SecWar, or worse yet, the SecNav have a clue or care to have a clue. Worse the 38th and 39th CMC’s have either done everything in their power to destroy the MAGTF out right, thank you very much General Berger and your coterie of consultants and acolytes. Or, in General Smith’s case don’t know whether you’re afoot or on horse back. So you do nothing, other than be sure your skivvies are ironed for inspection. So we wait, and the world spins and the clock is running, tick tock, tick tock….
As we know, the Marine Corps of today cannot conduct the missions for which it has for decades. Yet, it cannot perform the new mission for which it was altered to do. When before Congress, the current CMC spins stories about how the new Marine Corps can perform both missions. Worse, there is no push-back in Congress to counter his stories. In my opinion, we need to have another "Bended Knee" moment to save our Corps. The former Commandants and many of the esteemed writers on this board need to testify before Congress about the true state of the Marine Corps. We have a major combat operation and there are no Marines afloat to conduct a myriad of missions if called upon. Our case needs to be made public for all to see, so that people will understand what has been lost and why the United States is less safe for not having a Marine Corps which is a robust, globally responsive, combined-arms naval expeditionary force.
Take a wider view. Research where China gets its oil. Then it’s coal. Both of which run their economy and war time expansion. The supplier of oil as I found it was Iran and a South American nation. Neither may be a supplier. Take a strategic not a tactical view
Marines - (1) those three precious F-15E's were not shot down they ran out of gas and the fourth one landed at Ali Al Salem - still no confirmation of Patriot logs targeting the F-15E's but the tanker CAPS were called back by CENTCOM after they feared that there was a great risk from launching Iranian fighters (MiG-29's) that the Israeli's so nicely bagged two with their F-35"I"s
(2) Marine MAGTF's - perhaps all three - could easily be used to secure the Straits of Hormuz joining with Regional forces thus gaining control of the biggest access route for the world's energy (OIL / LNG) and with Venezuela in the POTUS pocket - what do we have and what is available to hand over to a new Iranian government perhaps under the old Shah's son to restart a democratic economic powerhouse whose exports have some western controls on.... hummm???
Is America ready to commit to another decades-long Middle East intervention? I can't see how attacking Iran is making me or my family any safer. I can't see how we're going to make any meaningful change in the region without boots on the ground for many years. And it's astounding to me that we're still painting Iran with such a simplistic brush and essentially still calling them the Axis of Evil. I think we're getting played by the regional powers in the ME, and doing their dirty work for them. But hey, this administration is getting lots of spiffy new business deals and got a new plane. This is a situation much better handled by diplomacy than sending a MAGTF or MEU. Maybe I'm just a former grunt looking for a reason to avoid more lives lost, but I'd like to see this tried before the 03s storm the beach.
Grok:**Revised Summary: F-15 Incident Only (No Citations)**
“Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were lost over Kuwait on the night of March 1–2, 2026 (local time), during Operations Epic Fury / Roaring Lion.
All six crew members (two per jet) ejected safely, were quickly recovered by friendly forces, and remain in stable condition with no serious injuries reported.
The aircraft were shot down in an apparent friendly fire incident by Kuwaiti air defense systems amid heavy Iranian retaliatory strikes involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and low-flying aircraft entering Kuwaiti airspace.
U.S. Central Command and Kuwaiti officials confirmed the jets were mistakenly engaged by ground-based defenses (likely Patriot or older HAWK batteries) during the chaotic, high-threat environment.
There is no evidence or official indication that the losses resulted from fuel exhaustion, lack of aerial refueling tankers, or any logistical/operational fuel-related failure. Tanker support remained active and available in the theater throughout the operation.
The incident represents the first confirmed U.S. fixed-wing combat losses in the current conflict, though crew survival kept personnel casualties at zero.”…