James Webb made these comments almost four years ago. The then reaction to FD-2030 had been negative and has remained negative since it was first implemented. I purposely do not say “ proposed”. It was announced and implementation commenced immediately revealing that the concept had been conceived in secret. The active duty questioners were cashiered one by one and the questions and concerns of the experienced simply ignored with those who sincerely questioned repeatedly insulted as to their intellect and loyalty. In the meantime a medium sized conventional war in Ukraine exposes FD-2030 for the delusional concept it was. Yet, the USMC senior leadership forges ahead like a blind sow determined to eat.
DoD washed their hands of any responsibility right down to roles and missions or their proper control of funding. Two CNO’s have been supportive of the concept hoping to pick at the eventual carcass. Regional Commanders understand that the Corps is irrelevant to their mission. Yet, here we are. Full speed ahead. The silence of the JCS make it clear that they all have designs on the Corps’ little budget to enhance theirs.
From day one the wiser minds looked at the desire for an expanded mission to include missile based coastal defense and understood it should be additive. Add an experimental Bn to each Artillery Regiment to develop and experiment.
Of late the Corps demonstrates its global irrelevance daily and doubles down on flights of fancy, lack of integrity and out right stubbornness. Institutions are disbanded for less. I only hope that when the collapse occurs, and it will occur, those responsible will be returned to active duty and held accountable for their actions.
Randy, I believe the Arty Regiments have a HIMARs Battery. I would prefer a Bn. The munitions that could make these ship killers are not yet developed. They are not the platform or missile the Corps seeks for the ship killing mission from clandestine sites in remote locations with minimal support. How well HIMARS could locate, target and engage moving ships I do not know. Marginal is probably kind. Which brings me back to the reason to be additive. Want a capability? Go get it but do not rip the Corps apart to do that.
Having just read the article that Senator Webb penned, as noted more than four years ago, one statement that stood out was General Berger relying on a Harvard Business School professor’s opinion rather than that of the very able active duty and retired Marines around him. Papered over windows and NDA’s. At Enron, Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay had a floor in the original Enron building in Houston, they took existing and potential investors there to demonstrate the facile and rapier quick trading and investing capability of the Big E. The problem was the floor was a Potemkin Village, rows of trading screens that didn’t connect to anything and traders from other floors brought down for a quick 30 minutes to sit at desks and screens that didn’t do anything. Of course everyone was forced to sign confidentiality agreements or NDA’s. Sound familiar? It’s was a complete farce, the same way FD2030 is a farce, led by arrogant officers who as Jim Webb stated have gone to prestigious schools for advanced degrees, taught by professors who don’t know the butt end of a rifle from the muzzle. Was HBS where General Berger spent some time? One wonders if he was made aware of the Harvard Endowment making an investment in a Brazilian Rain Forest, which was marked to market by the very people who got Harvard to invest. Your money is safe with us, my name is Honest John follow me Pinocchio, Harvard ended up losing $1B on the investment, sound familiar? The basics never change. Not trying to stop education for all Marines, it should be like camouflage and harassment ongoing and forever changing to meet the situation. But the backbone of Enron was 36,500 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and it made the basis for everything the company did, including the risky and illegal trading and investing that brought it to its knees and bankruptcy. If Enron had stuck to its core business, they might have been another boring investor owned utility, but they wouldn’t have swindled billions from the investors either. Well, well here we are the backbone of the Marine Corps highly mobile first to fight with portability and additive unit capability built over 100 years and some propeller heads with tainted war game assertions say “over the side you go MAGTF.” Well, maybe, and maybe not. At least Jeff Skilling did a long stand in stir. It didn’t help the 10,000 employees of Enron, or the investors, but it was a means of punishment for bad deeds. Who will pay the price for the folly of FD2030? Time will tell, let’s hope it is not Marines currently serving with the 26th MEU for example. One can only hope Jim Webb has another scorcher up his sleeve, maybe in his usual low key quiet non confrontational style politely call out the mess the last five years have been, supplement the already suggested course corrections and maybe lay a few guys out, verbally of course. Though he did box at the USNA….
Modern undersea cables use optical fiber technology to carry digital data which included, internet and private data traffic. Understanding the Internet is a global system of computer networks interconnected through telecommunication and optical networking. IMO it seems clear that the CCP has read Admiral Alfred T. Mahan and is attempting to secure its SLOCs. Now my question is: If you control the SLOCs do you also control the undersea cables under them?
“Blind Man’s Bluff, the Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage” Susan Sontag and Christopher Drew has an interesting historical record regarding submarine cables. Elon Musk’s Starlink has 5,000 of its projected megaconstellations of 42,000 satellites operating at present, one of its initial goals is to eventually compete with some segments of the undersea cable network located in the SLOCs. Musk’s Space X delivers a substantial percentage of all NRO packages into space. SpaceX has consistently delivered more payloads to space than any other launch system private or nation state owned for the last several years. H.I. Sutton’s website Covert Shores website has extensive undersea craft and capabilities details based on OSINT.
As we speak the United States has committed to building a pier in Gaza to facilitate the offload of humanitarian supplies and do so with out a single set of boots on the ground. Unknown is who will secure the head of pier and the inland beach head where supplies will be transferred for further transport into Gaza. Will the secure bridgehead be manned by the IDF or Hamas. Who will supply the trucks and the security?
This is a classic Navy - Marine mission. Not a sailor or Marine involved. This will be executed by the US Army under JLOTS concepts. Yet, right into an unsecured environment.
My concerns are about security, the dissemination of real time intelligence and the ability to act on it. I suppose Beirut, Mogadishou Bastion, COP Keating and Kabul are not lessons worth considering as we enter this hornet’s nest? I suppose we have anti drone security like we do not have in Syria?
The population of Gaza exceeds the population of West Berlin in 1948 two fold. Perhaps some planners might want to review the effort expended in the Berlin airlift to grasp what is going to have to flow across one pier.
I have grown very weary of the measured response, just in time logistics and best case military planning. If this fails, and I have no faith it will succeed, I would hope at a minimum the SECDEF and CJCS would offer to retire.
Today’s Marine Corps finds itself in a predicament of its own making not too different than that at the Alamo. MCCP will hopefully be able to incite enough change necessary to avoid the fate of the Defenders’s of the Alamo.
“Commandancy of the The Alamo
‘Bejar, Feby. 24th. 1836
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World-
Fellow Citizens & compatriots-
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna - I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man - The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken - I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls - I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch - The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country - Victory or Death.
William Barret Travis.
Lt. Col.comdt.
P. S. The Lord is on our side - When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn - We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Today is March 5, 2024..THE USMC DOES NOT HAVE A “FIT FOR DUTY COMMANDANT”! He has “NOT BEEN FIT FOR DUTY FOR 4 PLUS MONTHS”! This is in nothing new for the Biden administration, the President was found to be “mentally unfit to be tried for multiple violations of the Espionage Act” by Special Counsel TUR, Secretary of Defense Austin deserted his post for 3 days concealing his prostate and other possible cancers”, the Director of Homeland Security has been Impeached for numerous High Crimes and Misdemeanors and awaits trial in the US Senate, with its narrow Democrat Majority, Democrat US Senator Menendez, New Jersey has been indicted for multiple felonies and also awaits a Federal criminal trial. 10 to 12 million unvetted invaders have crossed into Our Homeland since Jan 21, 2021. Among them have been tens of thousands of military aged males from 172 countries this group has spies, murderers, state sponsored terrorist, human smugglers, child traffickers, CCP/Cartel Fentanyl Distributors all sent to destroy us. The number of KIAs from Fentanyl alone is in the hundreds of thousands. Saving Our Corps is a pressing issue yet the current State of the Union presents numerous higher priorities stifling our ability to make progress in resurrecting a Fit to Fight Marine Corps. We are on the precipice of a new 9/11, European Command ,Central Command, African Command, Indo Pacom has its plate full as does its Sub Unified Commander of US Forces Korea, let’s’ not leave out Northern or Southern Command or SpaceCommand etc... They all need Marine Forces. Marine Corps operating forces will need to Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, and Adapt again with the “means” it has on hand in order to be Victorious in the many battles it will inevitably be soon thrust into across the Globe. Ready or Not a Tsunami of War Across the Spectrum of Conflict is upon us. “Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln”said someone April, 14, 1865.
James Webb made these comments almost four years ago. The then reaction to FD-2030 had been negative and has remained negative since it was first implemented. I purposely do not say “ proposed”. It was announced and implementation commenced immediately revealing that the concept had been conceived in secret. The active duty questioners were cashiered one by one and the questions and concerns of the experienced simply ignored with those who sincerely questioned repeatedly insulted as to their intellect and loyalty. In the meantime a medium sized conventional war in Ukraine exposes FD-2030 for the delusional concept it was. Yet, the USMC senior leadership forges ahead like a blind sow determined to eat.
DoD washed their hands of any responsibility right down to roles and missions or their proper control of funding. Two CNO’s have been supportive of the concept hoping to pick at the eventual carcass. Regional Commanders understand that the Corps is irrelevant to their mission. Yet, here we are. Full speed ahead. The silence of the JCS make it clear that they all have designs on the Corps’ little budget to enhance theirs.
From day one the wiser minds looked at the desire for an expanded mission to include missile based coastal defense and understood it should be additive. Add an experimental Bn to each Artillery Regiment to develop and experiment.
Of late the Corps demonstrates its global irrelevance daily and doubles down on flights of fancy, lack of integrity and out right stubbornness. Institutions are disbanded for less. I only hope that when the collapse occurs, and it will occur, those responsible will be returned to active duty and held accountable for their actions.
Great comments. I've always thought the arty reg should have a HIMARS Bn. as part of its T/O.
Randy, I believe the Arty Regiments have a HIMARs Battery. I would prefer a Bn. The munitions that could make these ship killers are not yet developed. They are not the platform or missile the Corps seeks for the ship killing mission from clandestine sites in remote locations with minimal support. How well HIMARS could locate, target and engage moving ships I do not know. Marginal is probably kind. Which brings me back to the reason to be additive. Want a capability? Go get it but do not rip the Corps apart to do that.
Thank you Sir. I agree 100%.
Having just read the article that Senator Webb penned, as noted more than four years ago, one statement that stood out was General Berger relying on a Harvard Business School professor’s opinion rather than that of the very able active duty and retired Marines around him. Papered over windows and NDA’s. At Enron, Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay had a floor in the original Enron building in Houston, they took existing and potential investors there to demonstrate the facile and rapier quick trading and investing capability of the Big E. The problem was the floor was a Potemkin Village, rows of trading screens that didn’t connect to anything and traders from other floors brought down for a quick 30 minutes to sit at desks and screens that didn’t do anything. Of course everyone was forced to sign confidentiality agreements or NDA’s. Sound familiar? It’s was a complete farce, the same way FD2030 is a farce, led by arrogant officers who as Jim Webb stated have gone to prestigious schools for advanced degrees, taught by professors who don’t know the butt end of a rifle from the muzzle. Was HBS where General Berger spent some time? One wonders if he was made aware of the Harvard Endowment making an investment in a Brazilian Rain Forest, which was marked to market by the very people who got Harvard to invest. Your money is safe with us, my name is Honest John follow me Pinocchio, Harvard ended up losing $1B on the investment, sound familiar? The basics never change. Not trying to stop education for all Marines, it should be like camouflage and harassment ongoing and forever changing to meet the situation. But the backbone of Enron was 36,500 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and it made the basis for everything the company did, including the risky and illegal trading and investing that brought it to its knees and bankruptcy. If Enron had stuck to its core business, they might have been another boring investor owned utility, but they wouldn’t have swindled billions from the investors either. Well, well here we are the backbone of the Marine Corps highly mobile first to fight with portability and additive unit capability built over 100 years and some propeller heads with tainted war game assertions say “over the side you go MAGTF.” Well, maybe, and maybe not. At least Jeff Skilling did a long stand in stir. It didn’t help the 10,000 employees of Enron, or the investors, but it was a means of punishment for bad deeds. Who will pay the price for the folly of FD2030? Time will tell, let’s hope it is not Marines currently serving with the 26th MEU for example. One can only hope Jim Webb has another scorcher up his sleeve, maybe in his usual low key quiet non confrontational style politely call out the mess the last five years have been, supplement the already suggested course corrections and maybe lay a few guys out, verbally of course. Though he did box at the USNA….
Speaking of the World Wide Web and Undersea Cables
I caught this article this morning.
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/disruptions-to-undersea-cables/
Now take look at this map:
https://www.submarinecablemap.com/
Modern undersea cables use optical fiber technology to carry digital data which included, internet and private data traffic. Understanding the Internet is a global system of computer networks interconnected through telecommunication and optical networking. IMO it seems clear that the CCP has read Admiral Alfred T. Mahan and is attempting to secure its SLOCs. Now my question is: If you control the SLOCs do you also control the undersea cables under them?
“Blind Man’s Bluff, the Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage” Susan Sontag and Christopher Drew has an interesting historical record regarding submarine cables. Elon Musk’s Starlink has 5,000 of its projected megaconstellations of 42,000 satellites operating at present, one of its initial goals is to eventually compete with some segments of the undersea cable network located in the SLOCs. Musk’s Space X delivers a substantial percentage of all NRO packages into space. SpaceX has consistently delivered more payloads to space than any other launch system private or nation state owned for the last several years. H.I. Sutton’s website Covert Shores website has extensive undersea craft and capabilities details based on OSINT.
As we speak the United States has committed to building a pier in Gaza to facilitate the offload of humanitarian supplies and do so with out a single set of boots on the ground. Unknown is who will secure the head of pier and the inland beach head where supplies will be transferred for further transport into Gaza. Will the secure bridgehead be manned by the IDF or Hamas. Who will supply the trucks and the security?
This is a classic Navy - Marine mission. Not a sailor or Marine involved. This will be executed by the US Army under JLOTS concepts. Yet, right into an unsecured environment.
My concerns are about security, the dissemination of real time intelligence and the ability to act on it. I suppose Beirut, Mogadishou Bastion, COP Keating and Kabul are not lessons worth considering as we enter this hornet’s nest? I suppose we have anti drone security like we do not have in Syria?
The population of Gaza exceeds the population of West Berlin in 1948 two fold. Perhaps some planners might want to review the effort expended in the Berlin airlift to grasp what is going to have to flow across one pier.
I have grown very weary of the measured response, just in time logistics and best case military planning. If this fails, and I have no faith it will succeed, I would hope at a minimum the SECDEF and CJCS would offer to retire.
Today’s Marine Corps finds itself in a predicament of its own making not too different than that at the Alamo. MCCP will hopefully be able to incite enough change necessary to avoid the fate of the Defenders’s of the Alamo.
“Commandancy of the The Alamo
‘Bejar, Feby. 24th. 1836
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World-
Fellow Citizens & compatriots-
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna - I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man - The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken - I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls - I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch - The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country - Victory or Death.
William Barret Travis.
Lt. Col.comdt.
P. S. The Lord is on our side - When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn - We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis”
Today is March 5, 2024..THE USMC DOES NOT HAVE A “FIT FOR DUTY COMMANDANT”! He has “NOT BEEN FIT FOR DUTY FOR 4 PLUS MONTHS”! This is in nothing new for the Biden administration, the President was found to be “mentally unfit to be tried for multiple violations of the Espionage Act” by Special Counsel TUR, Secretary of Defense Austin deserted his post for 3 days concealing his prostate and other possible cancers”, the Director of Homeland Security has been Impeached for numerous High Crimes and Misdemeanors and awaits trial in the US Senate, with its narrow Democrat Majority, Democrat US Senator Menendez, New Jersey has been indicted for multiple felonies and also awaits a Federal criminal trial. 10 to 12 million unvetted invaders have crossed into Our Homeland since Jan 21, 2021. Among them have been tens of thousands of military aged males from 172 countries this group has spies, murderers, state sponsored terrorist, human smugglers, child traffickers, CCP/Cartel Fentanyl Distributors all sent to destroy us. The number of KIAs from Fentanyl alone is in the hundreds of thousands. Saving Our Corps is a pressing issue yet the current State of the Union presents numerous higher priorities stifling our ability to make progress in resurrecting a Fit to Fight Marine Corps. We are on the precipice of a new 9/11, European Command ,Central Command, African Command, Indo Pacom has its plate full as does its Sub Unified Commander of US Forces Korea, let’s’ not leave out Northern or Southern Command or SpaceCommand etc... They all need Marine Forces. Marine Corps operating forces will need to Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, and Adapt again with the “means” it has on hand in order to be Victorious in the many battles it will inevitably be soon thrust into across the Globe. Ready or Not a Tsunami of War Across the Spectrum of Conflict is upon us. “Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln”said someone April, 14, 1865.