As a former Marine (1960-1968) , it does make me wonder what our former and present Commandant have in mind for the Corps. My son and a Nephew were also Marines, My wife's parents were WW II Marines. We are concerned about the divest to invest idea. Concentrating on China as the only potential future problem has hamstrung the Corps at a time when we have problems worldwide. As others have pointed out, we can’t even take care of the Houthis in Yemen. The Air Force helped sink the Tarawa with a guided bomb, an FA 18 used a ship killer missile on the same target, the and the Army is preparing to increase it presence in the Pacific area. These three major military components can easily take care of some of the problems in the pacific. What is the purpose of having the Marines isolated on islands without the ship killing weapons to defend themselves and that have not even been developed yet. If we put these Marines on these islands, we can’t supply them, and we can’t move them. We have divested ourselves of our armor, 1/3 of our Aviation, some of our Infantry, and much of our Artillery. The Corps has always been looked to as the point of the spear and the first to get to the problem area and help the people in disaster situations or clear a beach head or inland area for combat operations. We simply don’t have the people equipment to do much of this now. A bit more divestment and there will be no reason for the Marine Corps to exist.
And “they” make it harder on the warriors as they have announced our presence in the Med and today they revealed our strategy for the arctic. Opsec is apparently not taught in our schools. Unless all this is “deception” . But a joint Russo-Chinese bomber incursion into Alaskan airspace indicates we ought to have a strategy up yonder. My time in Adak and at MCMWTC would have me believe training and specialized gear is not widely available. In the old days 2d Marines and 1/10 had cold weather as a recurring commitment. “Not prepared”? Wait and see is not an option. Not a Marine quality either!
As a former Marine (1960-1968) , it does make me wonder what our former and present Commandant have in mind for the Corps. My son and a Nephew were also Marines, My wife's parents were WW II Marines. We are concerned about the divest to invest idea. Concentrating on China as the only potential future problem has hamstrung the Corps at a time when we have problems worldwide. As others have pointed out, we can’t even take care of the Houthis in Yemen. The Air Force helped sink the Tarawa with a guided bomb, an FA 18 used a ship killer missile on the same target, the and the Army is preparing to increase it presence in the Pacific area. These three major military components can easily take care of some of the problems in the pacific. What is the purpose of having the Marines isolated on islands without the ship killing weapons to defend themselves and that have not even been developed yet. If we put these Marines on these islands, we can’t supply them, and we can’t move them. We have divested ourselves of our armor, 1/3 of our Aviation, some of our Infantry, and much of our Artillery. The Corps has always been looked to as the point of the spear and the first to get to the problem area and help the people in disaster situations or clear a beach head or inland area for combat operations. We simply don’t have the people equipment to do much of this now. A bit more divestment and there will be no reason for the Marine Corps to exist.
Former Marine Corporal Dr. John Watkins
And “they” make it harder on the warriors as they have announced our presence in the Med and today they revealed our strategy for the arctic. Opsec is apparently not taught in our schools. Unless all this is “deception” . But a joint Russo-Chinese bomber incursion into Alaskan airspace indicates we ought to have a strategy up yonder. My time in Adak and at MCMWTC would have me believe training and specialized gear is not widely available. In the old days 2d Marines and 1/10 had cold weather as a recurring commitment. “Not prepared”? Wait and see is not an option. Not a Marine quality either!
Thanks for sharing these. Everytime things are shed it brings into light whether certain status quo is beneficial to those it’s supposed to serve.