Compass Points was created to be a resource for independent thinking about the Marine Corps and national security. Compass Points has posted in the Compass Points PME Library more than 50 articles detailing urgent concerns about FD 2030. Yet, article after article, issue after issue, and concern after concern all remain unanswered. Perhaps there have been so few answers, because there are no answers to give. FD 2030 is fraught with dangers. There is growing concern throughout the Marine Corps community. Even the other armed services are beginning to notice. Retired Army Colonel, David Johnson, writing in Breaking Defense says it is time for the Marine Corps to get “back on track.”
Breaking Defense (breakingdefense.com) May 24, 2022
Land Warfare, Naval Warfare, Pentagon
Ending the civil war over the future of the US Marine Corps
There is a growing split in the Marine Corps community . . . .
By David E. Johnson
. . . Berger, although he had listening sessions with several of the dissident generals, apparently ignored their recommendations. Like it or not, these retired officers are part of his constituency and they helped build the magnificent Corps he inherited. Their advice should be carefully considered.
The stakes are extremely high. This is not an inconsequential decision, like the Oct. 2000 decision by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, when he mandated adoption of the black beret throughout the Army and set off a furor. Nor is Force Design 2030 a “New Coke” type of fiasco. Berger’s decision is extremely consequential. He is deciding the future capabilities of an important service to contribute to our national defense, not what kind of headgear Marines will wear or what sodas Americans will like.
Even an old, retired Army colonel like me, although I hate to admit it, realizes that our nation needs a strong and relevant Marine Corps. It is time for the Marine family to have a real sit-down to sort all this out and get the Corps back on track.
David E. Johnson, Ph.D., is a retired Army colonel. He is a principal researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and an adjunct scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point. From 2012-2014 he founded and directed the Chief of Staff of the Army Strategic Studies Group for General Raymond T. Odierno.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/05/ending-the-civil-war-over-the-future-of-the-us-marine-corps/
I greatly appreciate Col. Johnson's advocacy, however, he is a rare breed. My impression is that Big Army is quite content to sit back and watch the USMC play 4 of a kind as 2 pair in separate hands at the DOD poker table. (Not to mention, kudos to the US Army for a decent job of rapidly deploying armor (M3 Bradleys) in support of operations in Syria)