I find it incredulous we are debating the merits of sinking a ship when perhaps it's more appropriate to argue for returning our Corps to its original combined arms strength and capabilities -- if even possible now! As mentioned in the article, there are many ways and agencies who can sink a ship better than the Marine Corps. Look at the Bonhomme Richard (LHD), destroyed by fire internally in 2020. A loss of $1.2 billion. Never proved what, or who, was responsible. Could have been a disgruntled sailor, a lithium-ion battery, a forklift, etc. The real tragedy is transforming the Marine Corps into a non-combined arms force chasing ships with questionable Marine Island teams that don't appear to have the requisite equipment to do so, or even to do so as well as other existing services. The Corps is in big trouble -- we need to get back to our Title X mission and reconstitute our combined arms capabilities.
If I had any faith in the integrity of the senior leadership I would say Tarawa will be tough to sink. No damage control on board, no evasive maneuvering and the ship probably not even in a General Quarters condition set with spaces sealed. This reminds me of shooting at the 25 meter range or shooting a tethered cow.
How about making the Tarawa a remotely piloted ship in a 400 square mile area and you have 20 minutes to find and sink her?
I might draw attention to the post WWII analysis of the sinking of the Bismarck. A crippled sitting duck, hit for hours and eventually scuttled by the surviving crew.
It appears that the US Army is already ahead of the Marines in developing an island based ship killer capability. Let them go down that rabbit hole. Let the Marines focus on what we do best, task organized units trained to respond rapidly to a variety of crises.
The ex-USS Belleau Wood LHA-3 was sunk during RIMPAC 2006. They bombed her for days with everything...she refused to go under. Even with her watertight doors wired open...she gallantly refused to surrender. Finally, charges were placed under her waterline. She slowly succumbed to the deep.
I find it incredulous we are debating the merits of sinking a ship when perhaps it's more appropriate to argue for returning our Corps to its original combined arms strength and capabilities -- if even possible now! As mentioned in the article, there are many ways and agencies who can sink a ship better than the Marine Corps. Look at the Bonhomme Richard (LHD), destroyed by fire internally in 2020. A loss of $1.2 billion. Never proved what, or who, was responsible. Could have been a disgruntled sailor, a lithium-ion battery, a forklift, etc. The real tragedy is transforming the Marine Corps into a non-combined arms force chasing ships with questionable Marine Island teams that don't appear to have the requisite equipment to do so, or even to do so as well as other existing services. The Corps is in big trouble -- we need to get back to our Title X mission and reconstitute our combined arms capabilities.
Lynn A Stuart
If I had any faith in the integrity of the senior leadership I would say Tarawa will be tough to sink. No damage control on board, no evasive maneuvering and the ship probably not even in a General Quarters condition set with spaces sealed. This reminds me of shooting at the 25 meter range or shooting a tethered cow.
How about making the Tarawa a remotely piloted ship in a 400 square mile area and you have 20 minutes to find and sink her?
I might draw attention to the post WWII analysis of the sinking of the Bismarck. A crippled sitting duck, hit for hours and eventually scuttled by the surviving crew.
It appears that the US Army is already ahead of the Marines in developing an island based ship killer capability. Let them go down that rabbit hole. Let the Marines focus on what we do best, task organized units trained to respond rapidly to a variety of crises.
The ex-USS Belleau Wood LHA-3 was sunk during RIMPAC 2006. They bombed her for days with everything...she refused to go under. Even with her watertight doors wired open...she gallantly refused to surrender. Finally, charges were placed under her waterline. She slowly succumbed to the deep.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Belleau_Wood_(LHA-3)_sinking.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiVNia-YDLI