Compass Points - Multiple Wars
The US must have a global 911 force.
Compass Points - Multiple Wars
The US must have a global 911 force.
October 10, 2024
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The United States faces a world of threats. There are pressing dangers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, not to mention simmering troubles in Africa and Central and South America.
When the US is facing multiple worldwide threats, what kind of military does the US require?
Writing for The Hill, Michael O’Hanlon explains that while the US for decades built a military that could fight two wars simultaneously, more recent military leaders have,
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. . . deemed it adequate for the U.S. to be able to fight one war at a time, with the most demanding scenario probably against China. That was a shift from a more historical post-1950 tradition of building a military with the hypothetical capacity to wage two wars at once (fighting alongside allies in each case). The main motivation of such thinking was less about actually expecting to fight two wars at once (though we did so from 2003 through at least 2009), and more about deterring an opportunistic aggressor from seeing the U.S. as so preoccupied with one big war that it could get away with a quick aggressive move elsewhere.
With Russia, China, North Korea and Iran increasingly in strategic cahoots, this one-war framework no longer suffices.
-- Michael O’Hanlon, The Hill
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The view that the US needs a military that can respond to multiple threats is shared by many commentators. Writing for Foreign Policy, Jack Detsch in his article, "The U.S. Must Prepare to Fight Simultaneous Wars, Oversight Panel Says" explains that,
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The U.S. Defense Department should go back to resourcing and planning to fight wars in multiple parts of the world, according to a formal review of U.S. defense strategy ordered by Congress.
-- Jack Detsch, Foreign Policy
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Instead of a one war military, the US needs a global force that can fight and win global multiple global conflicts. That global national force must include a rapid response force, a 9-1-1 force. What would a US 9-1-1 force look like?
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If asked to design the ideal “911” force for our nation, we would build it with six distinct capabilities.
First, it would be an expeditionary force-in-readiness, capable of rapidly deploying to a crisis area by sea and air. The seaborne component would consist of forward-deployed amphibious forces, continuously on patrol in key areas around the world. They would be backed up by strategically positioned squadrons of prepositioning ships, which would be loaded with tailored supplies and equipment. Each maritime prepositioning squadron would be linked with trained and packaged fly-in forces that could quickly marry up with the equipment to form powerful and sustainable combat brigades . . .
Second, it would be a force of balanced combined arms, optimized to operate in austere environments. Its aviation elements would be capable of operating from expeditionary airfields or would include vertical take-off and landing aircraft that did not require existing airfields at all. The amphibious ships coupled with the at-sea offload capabilities of the prepositioning ships would negate the initial requirement for an existing port and airfield.
Third, this expeditionary force would be capable of task-organizing for any mission, consisting of flexible forces that could easily converge and composite into larger combat formation. It would not be “purpose designed” for any specific or narrow role or mission, but would be a general purpose force.
Fourth, the force would have a global focus and be capable of operating across the spectrum of conflict. It would not be overly focused on a single threat or region, nor chase a “pacing threat.” It could operate in any “clime and place.” It would not be restricted to any domain such as air, land, sea or littorals.
Fifth, this 911 force would be oriented to meet the requirements of all combatant commands, not a narrow few. Its service component commands would actively seek ways to contribute to all combatant commanders’ requests for forces.
And sixth, this premier emergency response force would have a training, education and concepts base for its doctrine, organization and equipping that emphasized maneuver, close combat, adaptability and flexibility. Its ethos would be built around a strong sense of these attributes, plus individual leadership traits such as trust, honor, discipline and initiative.
-- Charles Krulak, Charles Wilhelm, Anthony Zinni & James Conway, The Hill
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The National defense of the US requires more than a one war military. Global threats require a global force including a worldwide amphibious force of Marines. Compass Points salutes Charles Krulak, Charles Wilhelm, Anthony Zinni & James Conway for their article that advocates for a worldwide National 9-1-1 force.
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The Hill - 10/09/2024
How The Next President Can Be A ‘Cheap Hawk’
By Michael O’Hanlon
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4922284-how-the-next-president-can-be-a-cheap-hawk/
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Foreign Policy - 07/29/2024
The U.S. Must Prepare to Fight Simultaneous Wars, Oversight Panel Says
A new review finds the Pentagon isn’t ready to wage war in multiple theaters at once.
By Jack Detsch
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The Hill - 01/15/24
Four retired Marine generals on how to rebuild America’s crisis response force
By Charles Krulak, Charles Wilhelm, Anthony Zinni & James Conway
Gen. Charles Krulak USMC (Ret.) is a career infantry officer. His last assignment was as commandant of the Marine Corps.
Gen. Charles Wilhelm USMC (Ret.) is a career infantry officer. His last assignment was as commander, United States Southern Command.
Gen. Anthony Zinni USMC (Ret.) is a career infantry officer. His last assignment was as commander, United States Central Command.
Gen. James Conway USMC (Ret.) is a career infantry officer. His last assignment was as commandant of the Marine Corps.
Thank you General Krulak, Wilhelm, Zinni and Conway for the six distinct capabilities of a GLOBAL 911 Force. Hey! US military leaders and “GLOBAL” strategist, this sure ain’t rocket science. One of the strategic benefits that the 911 Force fills is the deployment gap between the strategic air lift and the sea lift requirements of combat forces, their combat service support and sustainment. The big sustainment requirement is ammo. It took over two months (Dec-Jan) to get the Combatant Commander’s required ammunition stockpiled in theater for Desert Storm. For Desert Shield that strategic lift gap (Aug –Sep) was filled by Marine Corps amphibious forces, fly in echelons and MPF off loads (x2). For the CENTCOM's Operation Desert Shield and Storm, the US Marine Corps committed not only an amphibious force but also three MPFs (3 MEBs) providing the rapid deployment, equipment, supplies, operational capability, and strategic flexibility needed by the Combatant Commander’s Campaign Plan. Semper Fi