I have said repeatedly that the Marine Corps has become irrelevant globally. It has focused on a single mission in a single geographic location and after five years has yet to field a functional, war ready unit. In short, if war were tomorrow it could not contribute. This is a rendezvous with extinction as Congress will eventually figure out that a service of 160,000, with no ability to contribute to national defense has no further purpose. It will either need to rebuild it or disband it and distribute the remaining equipment, weaponry and personnel to the Navy, Air Force and Army.
Douglas and my fear is that it's easier to disband the Corps than it is to rebuild it. The Armybis doing a masterful job in trying to replace the Corps.
This is so obvious to me that I am stunned that the senior Corps leadership does not see this threat to the very survival of the Corps. In a previous post I suggested that the Corps must have an 18 month revitalization to be ready to fight and 48 months to create Marine Operating forces for a 2028 battlefield. That will require funding, training, acquisitions and recruiting like we have not engaged in since 1942. If we fail to do that we will become the bill payer in the brutal budget battles next year. By 2026 we could be headed for being a ceremonial unit and gone by 2028. Due to apathy the American people would hardly notice.
So we are rather irrelevant in the current need to help prevent a widening war in the Middle East. I didn't think of that when asking what our capability would be to thwart China taking Taiwan or the Philippines. So given that the dramatic crippling of our Corps began five years ago and continues today, is it impolite to ask what will be done to determine accountability?
No accountability seems to be the new mantra of senior officers, as Gary Anderson called them, Generals and Admirals, children of a lessor God. iIndeed, SECDEF goes missing, CentCom Commander won’t put his stars on the desk over holding Bagram, HKIA ensues, Chair of the JCS says didn’t look at us, we told them not to do it, as they left billions in gear behind to create and enhance an arms dealership extraordinaire.
FD whatever we call it today, has divested and not invested, it has nothing to show for the last five years, other than defensive blathering over “old thinkers” ruining their party. No real SIF and MLR, but a ridiculous and insulting table of organization filled with E5/E6/E7 NCO’s doing the jobs of Corporals and Sargents*, and an almost nonexistent TE, “we doan need no stinking tanks…” etc, but you equally have no missiles of repute either.
But, here’s the good news, the MAGTF conceptually is alive and well, the bad news is it can’t really stand up terribly well at the moment. Additionally, if the Corps misses enough movement, can’t meet Title X requirements, and the senior managers can’t account for this problem then sooner or later people start asking questions. In principal an independent report is owed Congress. At some point when the American public finds that it has a Marine Corps on the precipice of non existence, they may call for and support the revitalization. There are a lot of very talented young officers and enlisted who know FD whatever is nonsense, they understand maneuver warfare and how to be agile but backed up with integrated combined arms. They are willing to fight any time, any where, to coin a phrase they “do windows”. One gets the feeling as dark as it seems today that some traction is being had, Chowder Society II is being relentless in the effort to turn the effort back to a revitalized Corps, fast on its feet, agile and lethal. If we keep pushing back, even from out here in the peanut gallery, the Marine Corps can be saved, it’s a matter of Calvin Coolidge’s favorite word, persistence.
*The very best Corporals and Sargent’s in the US Military, period.
This is becoming all too familiar. The recent Secret Service debacle, with bystanders killed/wounded and former president hit, is all too familiar throughout the federal government. Remember Desert One/Eagle Claw? Nothing has improved and our Corps has not been exempt from operational, equipment and planning failures.
There will be no improvement or correction without first having the ability and perspective to recognize and admit failures. Real accountability is a thing of the past, or is that also an outdated concept?
Has anyone in responsible positions ever heard of SMEAC?
Situation
Mission
Execution
Administration & Logistics
Communications
This seemingly simple Five Paragraph Order can and should be applied to any new situation or operation. Ignore any one of these and failure is guaranteed.
During three assignments as an Operations Officer, I wrote dozens of operations orders, some simple and some complex, but it always applied. I even found it helpful in my Commercial Real Estate Development company and applied it to every project we undertook.
It looks like the new guys are too smart for old, outdated concepts and have figured out new, ultra modern methods and systems that are just over the horizon. Semper Fi
You hit spot on: no accountability. Remember when the Sec Def went AWOL, and the President didn't even know where he was. The Sec Def should have resigned immediately!
I have said repeatedly that the Marine Corps has become irrelevant globally. It has focused on a single mission in a single geographic location and after five years has yet to field a functional, war ready unit. In short, if war were tomorrow it could not contribute. This is a rendezvous with extinction as Congress will eventually figure out that a service of 160,000, with no ability to contribute to national defense has no further purpose. It will either need to rebuild it or disband it and distribute the remaining equipment, weaponry and personnel to the Navy, Air Force and Army.
Douglas and my fear is that it's easier to disband the Corps than it is to rebuild it. The Armybis doing a masterful job in trying to replace the Corps.
I hate to say it, but you may be correct. It will cost alot to rebuild the Corps to what it was and should be. Very, very, sad.
Randy,
This is so obvious to me that I am stunned that the senior Corps leadership does not see this threat to the very survival of the Corps. In a previous post I suggested that the Corps must have an 18 month revitalization to be ready to fight and 48 months to create Marine Operating forces for a 2028 battlefield. That will require funding, training, acquisitions and recruiting like we have not engaged in since 1942. If we fail to do that we will become the bill payer in the brutal budget battles next year. By 2026 we could be headed for being a ceremonial unit and gone by 2028. Due to apathy the American people would hardly notice.
So we are rather irrelevant in the current need to help prevent a widening war in the Middle East. I didn't think of that when asking what our capability would be to thwart China taking Taiwan or the Philippines. So given that the dramatic crippling of our Corps began five years ago and continues today, is it impolite to ask what will be done to determine accountability?
No accountability seems to be the new mantra of senior officers, as Gary Anderson called them, Generals and Admirals, children of a lessor God. iIndeed, SECDEF goes missing, CentCom Commander won’t put his stars on the desk over holding Bagram, HKIA ensues, Chair of the JCS says didn’t look at us, we told them not to do it, as they left billions in gear behind to create and enhance an arms dealership extraordinaire.
FD whatever we call it today, has divested and not invested, it has nothing to show for the last five years, other than defensive blathering over “old thinkers” ruining their party. No real SIF and MLR, but a ridiculous and insulting table of organization filled with E5/E6/E7 NCO’s doing the jobs of Corporals and Sargents*, and an almost nonexistent TE, “we doan need no stinking tanks…” etc, but you equally have no missiles of repute either.
But, here’s the good news, the MAGTF conceptually is alive and well, the bad news is it can’t really stand up terribly well at the moment. Additionally, if the Corps misses enough movement, can’t meet Title X requirements, and the senior managers can’t account for this problem then sooner or later people start asking questions. In principal an independent report is owed Congress. At some point when the American public finds that it has a Marine Corps on the precipice of non existence, they may call for and support the revitalization. There are a lot of very talented young officers and enlisted who know FD whatever is nonsense, they understand maneuver warfare and how to be agile but backed up with integrated combined arms. They are willing to fight any time, any where, to coin a phrase they “do windows”. One gets the feeling as dark as it seems today that some traction is being had, Chowder Society II is being relentless in the effort to turn the effort back to a revitalized Corps, fast on its feet, agile and lethal. If we keep pushing back, even from out here in the peanut gallery, the Marine Corps can be saved, it’s a matter of Calvin Coolidge’s favorite word, persistence.
*The very best Corporals and Sargent’s in the US Military, period.
This is becoming all too familiar. The recent Secret Service debacle, with bystanders killed/wounded and former president hit, is all too familiar throughout the federal government. Remember Desert One/Eagle Claw? Nothing has improved and our Corps has not been exempt from operational, equipment and planning failures.
There will be no improvement or correction without first having the ability and perspective to recognize and admit failures. Real accountability is a thing of the past, or is that also an outdated concept?
Has anyone in responsible positions ever heard of SMEAC?
Situation
Mission
Execution
Administration & Logistics
Communications
This seemingly simple Five Paragraph Order can and should be applied to any new situation or operation. Ignore any one of these and failure is guaranteed.
During three assignments as an Operations Officer, I wrote dozens of operations orders, some simple and some complex, but it always applied. I even found it helpful in my Commercial Real Estate Development company and applied it to every project we undertook.
It looks like the new guys are too smart for old, outdated concepts and have figured out new, ultra modern methods and systems that are just over the horizon. Semper Fi
You hit spot on: no accountability. Remember when the Sec Def went AWOL, and the President didn't even know where he was. The Sec Def should have resigned immediately!