The character of war? Really? With the technology available in 1941-45 we won the Pacific and European theaters. All the technology of 2024 and we can’t defeat the Houthis in 10 months. It’s not technology. It’s the willingness to commit violence when violence is the only answer.
We won WWII in the Pacific in just under four years. The first ground operation (Guadalcanal) to our atomic response, took three years. Victory! We were a determined Nation committed to winning.
The Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea in October 2023. Vessels began transiting the Cape of Good Hope as a work around. 10 months later they still are.
I wonder how long it would have taken Curtis LeMay to end the Houthi problem?
The U.S. gets involved and deploys naval forces the Red Sea as a response. Of course we have to name the operation for the public. The name we assign the operation conveys a less than full measure of commitment. “Operation Prosperity Guardian”.
The message? The U.S. is here to guard. We’re not here to win. And our enemies see that and our flaccid “defense only“ responses. We are shooting down drones and missiles and celebrate doing so. And the headline this week?
Female Marine F/A 18 pilot shoots down Houthi drone”. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that special?
Are the Houthis deterred? Frightened? Destroyed?
The U.S. is seen as managers of problems. Not a force that destroys problems with all the National and military power we have. It’s a game to the politicians, aided and abetted by the media.
Gen Butler was right. “War is a racket”.
And this movie scene came to mind while reading and considering these matters.
“He doesn’t know it’s a damn show. He thinks it’s a damn fight”.
In addition to the technical, the logistical, the tactical and the strategic problems with FDWXYZ, beneath all of that is an assertion that our Maurine’s now need to be different. That the very make up of the Marine Corps low these last 249 years needs to change. It isn’t that OUR generals are older (abet wiser) it’s that they and we who are allied with them, disagree not only with the concept of FDWXYZ, but the deeper cut into our way of life, our ethos. It is hard to wrap one’s brain around it, why are senior officers in our Corps trying to dismantle it? We heard, if one watched the Commandant’s Brookings Institute “conversation”, that he is doing all manner of innovative things, but until Marines living in squalid conditions got national attention the senior leadership seemed to have a deaf ear. Now that the public has reflected, the DOD and CMC are directing. That is NOT leadership, and it was and is a failure to do their most basic of duties, primarily that, of taking care of our Marines.
Clearly the siren songs of the puzzle palace consultants and joint command milk and cookies happy times have had an impact, but perhaps worse, the swamp gas emitted from foggy bottom has clouded their judgement. None of the activity of the last four years is remotely acceptable, and when called on it we are told to S1 and S2. (Talk about a bunch with glass jaws, try crystal jaws…) it is hard to imagine the egos on men and women in Marine Corps leadership roles being so narrowly focused, and further so rude to the men that shaped the Corps over the last 40-30 years and got shot at before setting out on that monumental task. They came back, and they said “never again” for a reason. They worked to make it so that “never again” would endure. Here we are asking them again (yes, being redundant as this has been said here before) to step back in and unwind the unholy mess of Force Design. If we can get back to a fast moving, rapidly deployable violently lethal MEU, MEB and MEF than the rest takes care of itself. Rebel units firing small missiles and or drones at commercial and military shipping or dealing at a higher tempo with a more sophisticated foe, will start any and all thinking twice before acting. The last thing most bad actors want to see is an ARG/MEU breaking just over the horizon. On the other hand there is a sense generally, among the oppressed who see those ships and they are gladdened, as they know “The Marines are coming…” Marines would not be available and coming over the horizon if they are stranded on small island archipelagos waiting for a mythical bad actor to show up. The more voices in reasoned and systematic tones that get to the general public and ergo federal representatives the better, one gets the feeling maybe, just maybe, the issue is not as seriously in doubt as even 6 months ago. But, the fight still needs to be waged, until FDWhatever we call it, is done and memorialized as things not to do.
Great comments by Marines Barrow and Wemyss. FD2030 took a while to get here. It will take a while to effectively deal with it through careful analysis & proper action(s). Stay the course. Keep the good ideas flowing. In the end, our reconstitution will be as much an intellectual process as political, philosophical, and persistent doggedness. Keep our powder dry - more engagements to be had & won.
"Are precision weapons merely an evolutionary change in the face of war or are they a rare and revolutionary change in the character of war?"
We are already witnessing the counter to precision weapons, especially missiles and drones. The Israeli Iron Dome has a 90% (plus) success rate. The Arleigh-Burke Destroyer is knocking down both missiles and drones in the Red Sea successfully despite the political restraints. The 2030 Design is a bad response to a bad strategy. Both General Berger and Smith have acknowledged that a war with the CCP cannot be fought successfully without a US Military Service "JOINT" effort.
At the beginning of this strategic misstep, General Berger should have stood on the SECDEF’s desk and yelled that the US Military Joint Service is going to need a ground based anti-missile defense. Let’s get the US Army hot on that idea. The best anti-ship attack method is with aircraft and missiles launched by aircraft and US Navy ships. OH! BTW we need to solve the US Navy's ship building and maintain issue. Control of the SLOCs is what is going to win a global war. The CCP recognizes the strength of the US Joint Military’s ability to strategically deploy forces globally. The US Marine Corps, as a “911” force (ie with amphibious ships and MPFs), is an essential element to that strategy because it fills the gap between strategic airlift and the arrival of sealifted follow on forces and sustainment. What is going to deter and win a peer-on-peer war with the CCP sure ain’t “rocket science”.
In a concluding summary of today's post, it says"the Nation's penultimate crisis response force can safely discard or degrade its own infantry, armor, artillery, air, combat engineering, and more?" Since "penultimate" means next to last, I assume and hope that "ultimate" was the intended word..
The character of war? Really? With the technology available in 1941-45 we won the Pacific and European theaters. All the technology of 2024 and we can’t defeat the Houthis in 10 months. It’s not technology. It’s the willingness to commit violence when violence is the only answer.
We won WWII in the Pacific in just under four years. The first ground operation (Guadalcanal) to our atomic response, took three years. Victory! We were a determined Nation committed to winning.
The Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea in October 2023. Vessels began transiting the Cape of Good Hope as a work around. 10 months later they still are.
I wonder how long it would have taken Curtis LeMay to end the Houthi problem?
The U.S. gets involved and deploys naval forces the Red Sea as a response. Of course we have to name the operation for the public. The name we assign the operation conveys a less than full measure of commitment. “Operation Prosperity Guardian”.
The message? The U.S. is here to guard. We’re not here to win. And our enemies see that and our flaccid “defense only“ responses. We are shooting down drones and missiles and celebrate doing so. And the headline this week?
Female Marine F/A 18 pilot shoots down Houthi drone”. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that special?
Are the Houthis deterred? Frightened? Destroyed?
The U.S. is seen as managers of problems. Not a force that destroys problems with all the National and military power we have. It’s a game to the politicians, aided and abetted by the media.
Gen Butler was right. “War is a racket”.
And this movie scene came to mind while reading and considering these matters.
“He doesn’t know it’s a damn show. He thinks it’s a damn fight”.
Apollo Creed’s corner man to Apollo in Rocky 1.
Semper Fidelis
Barrow sends.
In addition to the technical, the logistical, the tactical and the strategic problems with FDWXYZ, beneath all of that is an assertion that our Maurine’s now need to be different. That the very make up of the Marine Corps low these last 249 years needs to change. It isn’t that OUR generals are older (abet wiser) it’s that they and we who are allied with them, disagree not only with the concept of FDWXYZ, but the deeper cut into our way of life, our ethos. It is hard to wrap one’s brain around it, why are senior officers in our Corps trying to dismantle it? We heard, if one watched the Commandant’s Brookings Institute “conversation”, that he is doing all manner of innovative things, but until Marines living in squalid conditions got national attention the senior leadership seemed to have a deaf ear. Now that the public has reflected, the DOD and CMC are directing. That is NOT leadership, and it was and is a failure to do their most basic of duties, primarily that, of taking care of our Marines.
Clearly the siren songs of the puzzle palace consultants and joint command milk and cookies happy times have had an impact, but perhaps worse, the swamp gas emitted from foggy bottom has clouded their judgement. None of the activity of the last four years is remotely acceptable, and when called on it we are told to S1 and S2. (Talk about a bunch with glass jaws, try crystal jaws…) it is hard to imagine the egos on men and women in Marine Corps leadership roles being so narrowly focused, and further so rude to the men that shaped the Corps over the last 40-30 years and got shot at before setting out on that monumental task. They came back, and they said “never again” for a reason. They worked to make it so that “never again” would endure. Here we are asking them again (yes, being redundant as this has been said here before) to step back in and unwind the unholy mess of Force Design. If we can get back to a fast moving, rapidly deployable violently lethal MEU, MEB and MEF than the rest takes care of itself. Rebel units firing small missiles and or drones at commercial and military shipping or dealing at a higher tempo with a more sophisticated foe, will start any and all thinking twice before acting. The last thing most bad actors want to see is an ARG/MEU breaking just over the horizon. On the other hand there is a sense generally, among the oppressed who see those ships and they are gladdened, as they know “The Marines are coming…” Marines would not be available and coming over the horizon if they are stranded on small island archipelagos waiting for a mythical bad actor to show up. The more voices in reasoned and systematic tones that get to the general public and ergo federal representatives the better, one gets the feeling maybe, just maybe, the issue is not as seriously in doubt as even 6 months ago. But, the fight still needs to be waged, until FDWhatever we call it, is done and memorialized as things not to do.
Great comments by Marines Barrow and Wemyss. FD2030 took a while to get here. It will take a while to effectively deal with it through careful analysis & proper action(s). Stay the course. Keep the good ideas flowing. In the end, our reconstitution will be as much an intellectual process as political, philosophical, and persistent doggedness. Keep our powder dry - more engagements to be had & won.
"Are precision weapons merely an evolutionary change in the face of war or are they a rare and revolutionary change in the character of war?"
We are already witnessing the counter to precision weapons, especially missiles and drones. The Israeli Iron Dome has a 90% (plus) success rate. The Arleigh-Burke Destroyer is knocking down both missiles and drones in the Red Sea successfully despite the political restraints. The 2030 Design is a bad response to a bad strategy. Both General Berger and Smith have acknowledged that a war with the CCP cannot be fought successfully without a US Military Service "JOINT" effort.
At the beginning of this strategic misstep, General Berger should have stood on the SECDEF’s desk and yelled that the US Military Joint Service is going to need a ground based anti-missile defense. Let’s get the US Army hot on that idea. The best anti-ship attack method is with aircraft and missiles launched by aircraft and US Navy ships. OH! BTW we need to solve the US Navy's ship building and maintain issue. Control of the SLOCs is what is going to win a global war. The CCP recognizes the strength of the US Joint Military’s ability to strategically deploy forces globally. The US Marine Corps, as a “911” force (ie with amphibious ships and MPFs), is an essential element to that strategy because it fills the gap between strategic airlift and the arrival of sealifted follow on forces and sustainment. What is going to deter and win a peer-on-peer war with the CCP sure ain’t “rocket science”.
This is a seminal article with deep insights. It needs to be required reading in professional military schools across the Department of Defense.
In a concluding summary of today's post, it says"the Nation's penultimate crisis response force can safely discard or degrade its own infantry, armor, artillery, air, combat engineering, and more?" Since "penultimate" means next to last, I assume and hope that "ultimate" was the intended word..
You are absolutely correct.
The word choice was not just next to the last, it was the worst.
Thank you for your service and sharp eyes!
CP