The role of the arsonist is radically different than that of the architect and builder. When Gen Berger, the arsonist, lit the match his first day in office there was a process in place to fund, design, supply and build what was required to keep the Corps relevant. He cared little and had the mindset of a radical revolutionary. Evolution be damed. Burn it down, with only a vague notion of what a new Corps might look like after the conflagration which consumed weaponry, men, morale and tactics. To do this he brilliantly applied the OODA Loop on his own institution that was slow to grasp that this was not a Radom small fire in the corner but planned arson with multiple, planned fires. In the process he did not just ignore internal processes but violated DoD policies, appropriations laws as well as other federal laws. He did it all for four years without so much as a warning or censure from the SecNav, JCS or the Senate and House Armed Forces and Appropriations Committees. How was that even possible? Why did the fire alarm not go off and why was no fire apparatus ever deployed?
At the critical moment the Corps was without friends or Allies and was dealing with an enemy within. The silence spoke volumes. The Navy and Army saw no reason to respond to the fire because they saw a fire sale brewing and one competitor for resources committing institutional suicide. No Regional Combatant Commanders spoke up. Not one elected official even asked a question.
A small cadre of retired Officers, once they set aside their shock and disbelief, started to weigh in. The majority of retired Officers never bothered to even tune in. The apathy of the uninspired leadership of three of the four previous Commandants had spread the contagious apathy one set back after another, one delusional surrender after another. The arsonist’s primary Paladin took over and walked around the ashes with a blue print on a napkin and hardly the funding or real plans to reconstruct anything in a reasonable time frame. Today we find ourselves with a blurred vision, no time and no money. It pains me to write this. I see little reason for optimism unless something drastic happens soon.
Arsonists are criminals, and generally sick people. No more be said on that front, you can run but you can't hide, and that goes for several retired general officers that didn't speak up or sat in the Whitehouse or Pentagon and watched it happen. Not a word from the then SecDef, not a word from the former Chief of Staff to POTUS, but they were happy to be on 60 minutes to talk about how many books they had read. They let their Corps burn. They let us down. There is no coming back from the road to perdition that they have taken.
This is also so, "divest to invest" is a done deal, but now on to what next? A new SecNav. Classic case of a "new guy" with apparently no experience in the military and specifically the Navy and Marine Corps. There will be a new SecDef, assuming confirmation, (not a done deal) he will have the task of figuring out just what the Hell IS going in the puzzle palace. A good place to start is who is accomplishing their mission statement and whom or which services currently are not. Therein lies the difficulty and the opportunity. Everyone here at Compass Points, knows that the Corps is not meeting Title X mandates, so SecDef to SecNav, "I know you are trying to find your desk Mr. Phelan, but please find out why our ships don't float and our Marines are rudderless and unable to meet their mission statement". This SecNav nominee is a money guy, no doubt has as much sympathy for traditions and failure as Gordon Gecko had for pet dogs. Further, the nominee for OMB knows how the systems works, the untethered force of Musk and Ramaswamy through their rogue off the self Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) coupled with the OMB and potential to use "impoundment" could help find funds quickly to "buy back" assets sold off at bargain basement "fire sales" by the "arsonist" and his acolytes. The current Paladin may have to explain himself to the new SecDef and SecNav, and then justify the existence of the Marine Corps to 3 money guys with no heart or sympathy for the Marine Corps. It is going to be viewed as an asset good, bad or indifferent. The one saving grace is with a boost in budget to get the MAGTF swinging again, they will see that out of nearly trillion dollar defense budget that the Corps is the BEST BANG per BUCK of all the services. Will they have the further vision and intellectual curiosity to see that ARG/MEU/MEB/MEF is a tool for all ages, it just depends on the time and battle space to prove its versatility. Further, while much has been said about major wars with peer foes, the sad fact is that many small conflicts over the past 50 years have required just the exact fighting force that the MAGTF presents and in point fact has been precisely used to put out the many brush fires that the USA and its allies have found themselves in over the fullness of time. After all this is said and done we will need a new CMC. The current Commandant is compromised, lacks judgement and vision, and frankly appears untrustworthy. What a sad and awful thing to think, but if we can see it, does anyone think he will continue to fool this new group of "disrupters" brought in by a Boss, who is a disrupter extraordinaire? Not likely. The writer is still at the horse stall shoveling out the horse stall with a grin, there is a pony in there somewhere. We all just need to continue to persist and keep the issue of a revitalized Marine Corps front and center until positive resolution is accomplished.
Totally agree with this article but I'm curious. Where does Compass Points see the fight going now? I'm sure the Commandant has feelers out to the incoming President to push his plan and show that its the way to go. Is Compass Points matching that effort? I get the feeling that the fight has moved to the incoming SecDef & SecNav. All that is waaaay above my paygrade so consider all this a question (with ya'll providing some answers) and not a recommended course of action.
Our focus of effort is with the Congress, which has a long history of protecting the Corps from its distractors and ensuring such protection in Title 10 of the US Code. We are also reaching out to the nominated new Pentagon leaders with information on the significant damage done to the Corps over the past five years. As always, are efforts are apolitical and aimed at getting the Corps on the right track for the future.
This week the USNI Introduced the newly designated Secretary of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy. Unfortunately the poorly written article never mentioned the United States Marine Corps. Financier John Phelan will be the next SecNav. Who will brief Secretary Of the USMC and USN Phelan about the pathetic state of the current DON? Perhaps John Phelan is a student of the history of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy. Maybe he has read all of Victor Davis Hanson’s books or watches his Podcasts or You Tube Presentations. Maybe Our Republic will be fortunate and Chowder II member like Senator Webb who has been SecNav, is a Marine Combat Veteran and understands in detail the 6 year old Fatal Disaster that has destroyed Our Corps. Perhaps if we are lucky he has read the US Code that delineates the Composition and Mission of Our Corps. Maybe he understands that the World’s Finest Marine Sniper Rifle needs a highly skilled Trained Marine Sniper to employ it with great lethality!
At the surface level, no Marine should be deprived of a honor he/she earned as an individual. On the cloud level, no one in authority should have allowed it, but perhaps that simple act of denial speaks to the mindset! Sorry, sniper grads.
On to the topic of discussion: how does our Corps reconstitute its power in congress to be heard as the shadow of chaos darkens around us? I’d opine, first there has to be, at the top, the desire…..
He has a very clear understanding of the problem and continues to professionally challenge Force Design 2030. I believe when the history of this era is written the Senator will be seen as one of the heroes that saved the Corps from its two misguided leaders.
General, I don’t doubt what you say. I’m perplexed or maybe uneducated on the workings of Congress. I guess my question is what isn’t he more public in his challenges?
I know it would make me feel a whole lot more comfortable to know that we have an aware ally in Congress.
As a protege of Colonel Rape', I will continue to prosper from his wisdom. Spot on, sir!! And here I was, just starting to get a visceral reaction to those seven marines graduating from one of the most difficult schools in the world to actually graduate from, and not getting the 0317 MOS. That should be a ground ball for the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. I honestly don't even know who he is, but if a guy like Sgt Major Mike Curtin sat in that seat, the answer would be obvious. I would look the other way if they tattood it to their forearms! But you brought me back to the strategic level, where I should stay. Concur on all, sir!
Yet another HUGE blunder of Berger/Smith and FD2030 with the elimination of STA platoons, which are proven, valuable intel/recon assets as well as their lethality to take out specific targets... VISION2035 must be implemented immediately to restore ALL of the capabilities and systems that FD2030 divested! I would strongly recommend going with a much lighter, but just as lethal tank in lieu of the M1 Abrams for the Corps to reduce drastically the logistics requirement for such a valuable asset in the combined arms team! Also, fire current CMC Gen Smith and any Berger minions to purge the Corps of this "cancer" ideology!
The role of the arsonist is radically different than that of the architect and builder. When Gen Berger, the arsonist, lit the match his first day in office there was a process in place to fund, design, supply and build what was required to keep the Corps relevant. He cared little and had the mindset of a radical revolutionary. Evolution be damed. Burn it down, with only a vague notion of what a new Corps might look like after the conflagration which consumed weaponry, men, morale and tactics. To do this he brilliantly applied the OODA Loop on his own institution that was slow to grasp that this was not a Radom small fire in the corner but planned arson with multiple, planned fires. In the process he did not just ignore internal processes but violated DoD policies, appropriations laws as well as other federal laws. He did it all for four years without so much as a warning or censure from the SecNav, JCS or the Senate and House Armed Forces and Appropriations Committees. How was that even possible? Why did the fire alarm not go off and why was no fire apparatus ever deployed?
At the critical moment the Corps was without friends or Allies and was dealing with an enemy within. The silence spoke volumes. The Navy and Army saw no reason to respond to the fire because they saw a fire sale brewing and one competitor for resources committing institutional suicide. No Regional Combatant Commanders spoke up. Not one elected official even asked a question.
A small cadre of retired Officers, once they set aside their shock and disbelief, started to weigh in. The majority of retired Officers never bothered to even tune in. The apathy of the uninspired leadership of three of the four previous Commandants had spread the contagious apathy one set back after another, one delusional surrender after another. The arsonist’s primary Paladin took over and walked around the ashes with a blue print on a napkin and hardly the funding or real plans to reconstruct anything in a reasonable time frame. Today we find ourselves with a blurred vision, no time and no money. It pains me to write this. I see little reason for optimism unless something drastic happens soon.
Someone needs to firmly remove CMC's Head from his ass! Gunny has spoken!
Always listen to the Gunny!
Now is the time for Chowder II to have lunch with the new SecDef and SecNav.
Working hard to inform all the nominated Pentagon leaders and new as well as current members of Congress.
Arsonists are criminals, and generally sick people. No more be said on that front, you can run but you can't hide, and that goes for several retired general officers that didn't speak up or sat in the Whitehouse or Pentagon and watched it happen. Not a word from the then SecDef, not a word from the former Chief of Staff to POTUS, but they were happy to be on 60 minutes to talk about how many books they had read. They let their Corps burn. They let us down. There is no coming back from the road to perdition that they have taken.
This is also so, "divest to invest" is a done deal, but now on to what next? A new SecNav. Classic case of a "new guy" with apparently no experience in the military and specifically the Navy and Marine Corps. There will be a new SecDef, assuming confirmation, (not a done deal) he will have the task of figuring out just what the Hell IS going in the puzzle palace. A good place to start is who is accomplishing their mission statement and whom or which services currently are not. Therein lies the difficulty and the opportunity. Everyone here at Compass Points, knows that the Corps is not meeting Title X mandates, so SecDef to SecNav, "I know you are trying to find your desk Mr. Phelan, but please find out why our ships don't float and our Marines are rudderless and unable to meet their mission statement". This SecNav nominee is a money guy, no doubt has as much sympathy for traditions and failure as Gordon Gecko had for pet dogs. Further, the nominee for OMB knows how the systems works, the untethered force of Musk and Ramaswamy through their rogue off the self Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) coupled with the OMB and potential to use "impoundment" could help find funds quickly to "buy back" assets sold off at bargain basement "fire sales" by the "arsonist" and his acolytes. The current Paladin may have to explain himself to the new SecDef and SecNav, and then justify the existence of the Marine Corps to 3 money guys with no heart or sympathy for the Marine Corps. It is going to be viewed as an asset good, bad or indifferent. The one saving grace is with a boost in budget to get the MAGTF swinging again, they will see that out of nearly trillion dollar defense budget that the Corps is the BEST BANG per BUCK of all the services. Will they have the further vision and intellectual curiosity to see that ARG/MEU/MEB/MEF is a tool for all ages, it just depends on the time and battle space to prove its versatility. Further, while much has been said about major wars with peer foes, the sad fact is that many small conflicts over the past 50 years have required just the exact fighting force that the MAGTF presents and in point fact has been precisely used to put out the many brush fires that the USA and its allies have found themselves in over the fullness of time. After all this is said and done we will need a new CMC. The current Commandant is compromised, lacks judgement and vision, and frankly appears untrustworthy. What a sad and awful thing to think, but if we can see it, does anyone think he will continue to fool this new group of "disrupters" brought in by a Boss, who is a disrupter extraordinaire? Not likely. The writer is still at the horse stall shoveling out the horse stall with a grin, there is a pony in there somewhere. We all just need to continue to persist and keep the issue of a revitalized Marine Corps front and center until positive resolution is accomplished.
Totally agree with this article but I'm curious. Where does Compass Points see the fight going now? I'm sure the Commandant has feelers out to the incoming President to push his plan and show that its the way to go. Is Compass Points matching that effort? I get the feeling that the fight has moved to the incoming SecDef & SecNav. All that is waaaay above my paygrade so consider all this a question (with ya'll providing some answers) and not a recommended course of action.
Our focus of effort is with the Congress, which has a long history of protecting the Corps from its distractors and ensuring such protection in Title 10 of the US Code. We are also reaching out to the nominated new Pentagon leaders with information on the significant damage done to the Corps over the past five years. As always, are efforts are apolitical and aimed at getting the Corps on the right track for the future.
FREAKING AWESOME! Thanks for the news Sir. Much appreciated. Can't lie. Hope wasn't gone but it was fading...good to know the fight goes on.
This week the USNI Introduced the newly designated Secretary of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy. Unfortunately the poorly written article never mentioned the United States Marine Corps. Financier John Phelan will be the next SecNav. Who will brief Secretary Of the USMC and USN Phelan about the pathetic state of the current DON? Perhaps John Phelan is a student of the history of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy. Maybe he has read all of Victor Davis Hanson’s books or watches his Podcasts or You Tube Presentations. Maybe Our Republic will be fortunate and Chowder II member like Senator Webb who has been SecNav, is a Marine Combat Veteran and understands in detail the 6 year old Fatal Disaster that has destroyed Our Corps. Perhaps if we are lucky he has read the US Code that delineates the Composition and Mission of Our Corps. Maybe he understands that the World’s Finest Marine Sniper Rifle needs a highly skilled Trained Marine Sniper to employ it with great lethality!
There is a world of difference between Cortez burning the boats on the beach and spring breakers burning the tires on the car.
At the surface level, no Marine should be deprived of a honor he/she earned as an individual. On the cloud level, no one in authority should have allowed it, but perhaps that simple act of denial speaks to the mindset! Sorry, sniper grads.
On to the topic of discussion: how does our Corps reconstitute its power in congress to be heard as the shadow of chaos darkens around us? I’d opine, first there has to be, at the top, the desire…..
I'm STILL looking for Col. Sullivan USMCR (Ret) to step forward and lead Congress’s effort to get to the bottom of this clusterf**k.
He has a very clear understanding of the problem and continues to professionally challenge Force Design 2030. I believe when the history of this era is written the Senator will be seen as one of the heroes that saved the Corps from its two misguided leaders.
General, I don’t doubt what you say. I’m perplexed or maybe uneducated on the workings of Congress. I guess my question is what isn’t he more public in his challenges?
I know it would make me feel a whole lot more comfortable to know that we have an aware ally in Congress.
Semper Fi, Sir
As a protege of Colonel Rape', I will continue to prosper from his wisdom. Spot on, sir!! And here I was, just starting to get a visceral reaction to those seven marines graduating from one of the most difficult schools in the world to actually graduate from, and not getting the 0317 MOS. That should be a ground ball for the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. I honestly don't even know who he is, but if a guy like Sgt Major Mike Curtin sat in that seat, the answer would be obvious. I would look the other way if they tattood it to their forearms! But you brought me back to the strategic level, where I should stay. Concur on all, sir!
The World is on fire, the forge is hot, today’s Marines will once again improvise, adapt and overcome.
Learn the techniques of nonlethal joint breaking combat in my podcast here: https://www.brighteon.com/ae392d88-18a1-4493-8710-239e74f511c3
Yet another HUGE blunder of Berger/Smith and FD2030 with the elimination of STA platoons, which are proven, valuable intel/recon assets as well as their lethality to take out specific targets... VISION2035 must be implemented immediately to restore ALL of the capabilities and systems that FD2030 divested! I would strongly recommend going with a much lighter, but just as lethal tank in lieu of the M1 Abrams for the Corps to reduce drastically the logistics requirement for such a valuable asset in the combined arms team! Also, fire current CMC Gen Smith and any Berger minions to purge the Corps of this "cancer" ideology!