Compass Points - Not just the Marine Corps

Three days of prominent articles.

Compass Points - Not just the Marine Corps

Three days of prominent articles.

July 10, 2025

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It is not just the Marine Corps.

All of the US armed services are adjusting their previous plans and making changes to their units, equipment, and capabilities. The Army has been upgrading its force structure throughout calendar year 2025. The Navy is refocusing on finding new ways to get more ships on the world's oceans.

All of the changes in all of the armed services are covered by many news sources including Real Clear Defense.

Real Clear Defense is a leading news site for the defense community. Each day it curates and features a selection of leading defense articles. Real Clear Defense is read widely in Congress, think tanks, academia, and industry.

World events are always changing. Threats merge, change, and grow quickly. The US military can never remain static. It takes constant discussion, discourse, and debate so each service can assess the course it is on now and the course adjustments that need to be made now.

The need for constant change extends beyond the larger military branches. Author Richard Hinman writing in Responsible Statecraft has written about the need for Special Operations to rethink and reset, "American cult: Why our special ops need a reset."

Hinman writes, "Time to recognize that in their current state, our elite forces are bad for the military, bad for society, and bad for the operators themselves."

So it is not only the Marine Corps that needs to reset.

Over the last three days, Compass Points has received tremendous feedback, online and off, about the three articles written by three distinguished authors and retired Marines.

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July 7 - General Zinni, "China Myopia"

July 8 - BGen McAbee, "The Dubious Achievements of Force Design."

July 9 - LtGen Van Riper, "Today's Marine Corps - Fearful of Debate?"

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The three articles provide a great stimulus to discussions about where the Marine Corps is today and where it needs to be tomorrow.

On July 7, 2025, General Zinni posted, "China Myopia."

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China myopia means we no longer have a global strategy or view of the world. We do not have it in the USMC today. It was lost beginning in the years we were tied up in the groundhog days of the Afghan/ Iraq wars. Starting a few years ago, the senior leadership of the Marine Corps made a series of misguided decisions that have dismantled the Corps’ global thinking, along with much of our combined arms capabilities. What will it take to get back the global Marine Corps? We can only get it back with relentless education, discussion, and better decisions. Unfortunately, it might also take the turn of global events that may well catch us unprepared.

-- General Zinni, "China Myopia"

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On July 8, 2025, BGen McAbee posted, "The dubious achievements of Force Design."

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I will admit that the portfolio of FD achievements is certainly extensive, albeit about as impressive as the effectiveness of the Maginot Line. Allow me to cite a few examples of FD’s accomplishments:

1. Divestment of all armor, bridging, and in-stride breaching, severely restricting the effectiveness of Marine infantry to maneuver against the enemy.

2. Divestment of 14 of 21 artillery batteries in the active force, robbing Marine infantry of the close, continuous, accurate, and all-weather fire support needed to close with and destroy the enemy in the close and rear battles.

3. Divestment of 2 of the 6 AAV companies in the active force, limiting resiliency in amphibious operations and subsequent movement ashore.

4. Loss of 3 infantry battalions and 1 infantry regiment in the active force, contributing to an overall divestment of 21% of Marine infantry.

5. Loss of school trained snipers in Marine infantry battalions, almost certainly resulting in additional and needless casualties when next “the bullets start to fly.”

(List and article continues)

-- BGen McAbee "The Dubious Achievements of Force Design."

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On July 9, 2025, LtGen Van Riper posted, "Today's Marine Corps - Fearful of Debate?"

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The value of open and informed discussions or discourse is well known. Among these are the opportunity to consider a wider range of options and to uncover potential and unexpected consequences. The atmosphere created by leaders who encourage debate often enables more creative and innovative solutions as participants consider new perspectives. This approach also promotes active learning and more effective communication of ideas and concepts. Done well, such debates create a sense of belonging or community. That was certainly the outcome of the Gray-Mundy-Krulak era.

-- LtGen Van Riper "Today's Marine Corps - Fearful of Debate?"

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Real Clear Defense regularly helps stimulate discussion throughout the broad Marine community by featuring articles from Compass Points and elsewhere.

Just today, Real Clear Defense is featuring two recent Compass Points articles: Gen Zinnni's, "China Myopia" and Lt Gen Van Riper's, "Today's Marine Corps - Fearful of Debate?"

Compass Points salutes the leadership and staff of Real Clear Defense as they continue to feature many of the best articles on US defense.

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Real Clear Defense

July 10, 2025

https://www.realcleardefense.com/

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Compass Points - China Myopia

Time to move to a global view

July 7, 2025

marinecorpscompasspoints.substack.com/p/compass-points-china-myopia

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Compass Points - Dubious Achievements

The dubious achievements of Force Design.

July 8, 2025

marinecorpscompasspoints.substack.com/p/compass-points-dubious-achievements

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Compass Points - Fearful of Debate?

Robust discussion, discourse, and debate are important.

July 9, 2025

marinecorpscompasspoints.substack.com/p/compass-points-fearful-of-debate