USNI update: Don't Short Change the U.S. Marines

[APACHERAT]

Opinion: Don’t Short Change the U.S. Marines

The Sands of Iwo Jima and start building the Higgins boats. (LCVP)

The USNI (The Navy's think tank) snuck this one in today (News Years Day) as an update. Sneaky aren't they ?




>" As we continue to plunge headlong into shortsighted military unpreparedness driven by a strong case of strategic blindness, fiscal uncertainty and political timidity, it is worth considering the critical role played by the U.S. Marine Corps in protecting and sustaining national interests far from our shores.

In order to do so properly, the Marine Corps must be placed squarely within the rubric of American sea power, the most flexible, ready and present component of U.S. military power. Alongside the other elements of American sea power — the dominant surface and submarine forces, and the world’s most mobile and lethal form of air power (carrier aviation) — the Marines represent a middleweight land force designed to project land power from the sea.

The Marine Corps is not a second land army, although its employment since 2001 has caused it to be viewed like one. Marine leaders have been rightfully vocal about the naval roots of their service in recent years, and it is this aspect of its existence that guarantees the continuing relevance — no, the criticality — of the Marine Corps.

We believe that in light of the drawdown from the land wars of the past decade and in order to implement :laughat: President Barack Obama’s “rebalance” toward Asia-Pacific, the importance of American sea power in the guise of the Navy-Marine Corps team will only increase. Geography may not be destiny, but it certainly helps define strategy.

The United States is thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean from five treaty partners and a considerable mass of American national interest. The appetite for permanently garrisoned forces in the region seems to be on the wane, even as friends and allies look to the United States for assurance against destabilizing and persistent Chinese actions.

If we hope to remain a Pacific power... "< continue -> Opinion: Don't Short Change the U.S. Marines | USNI News

 

[Oozlefinch]

Very good analysis, thank you for sharing this.

One thing that always irks me is when people try to portray the Marines as "just another ground force", and as having a mission that the Army can do. Neither of these is accurate, and it is a huge mistake to try and make it out that way.

I agree with the opinion that there should be more interworking between the Navy and Marines. During my career I was stationed on 1 Marine base, and 2 Navy bases. And on the Navy bases we always had a good relationship with the sailors. But we were also constantly in contact with them, something I am sure is normally not the case.

I have long believed that the Marines should take back one of their founding reasons for existing, that being the guards and security of Navy bases. Fire all of those civilians guarding the gates, and put Marines back on the gates where they belong. Integrate Marine MP and Navy SP units in providing base security, only keeping a Civilian part for long term continuity and leaving them to guard more mundane areas, like the base housing area and maybe around the exchanges.

Also there needs to be an increased Marine presence on the ships. At one time, just about every ship in the Navy (even Destroyers) had Marines. But this role was largely stripped in 1998. I think it is past time to return the Marines to the ships as well. I think a well trained Marine Detachment would be more effective in preventing a repeat of the USS Cole incident then some Machinist Mate who is simply doing a tour of watch before going back to his or her bunk.

In fact, for the co-ed ships this would be an excellent testbed for the use of Female Marines who are trained as Infantry. Full use of the skills they have acquired, but in a situation where brute strength and endurance is not as much of a factor s it would be as Battlefield Infantry.

 

[US Conservative]

The Marines kick ass and take names. Considering they budget, gear, and (naval) restraints they sometimes have its amazing how hard they hit. They are a straight up combat force, and do it where ever, when ever.

 

[APACHERAT]

The Marines kick ass and take names. Considering they budget, gear, and (naval) restraints they sometimes have its amazing how hard they hit. They are a straight up combat force, and do it where ever, when ever.

The Marine in the picture above is tough, confident and battle-hardened. He has been tested and came out on top. Through the crucible of war, he is prepared for whatever comes his way. In his landmark book Goodbye Darkness, noted historian William Manchester, himself a veteran of the Corps, described the wartime Marine as a "skilled blue-collar workman", and "a journeyman [who] worked ceaselessly to improve his mastery of his craft."
In a system that combined esprit de corps, technical instruction, rote memorization and hands-on learning, boot camp was the engine which took raw civilians and turned them into basically trained Marines. At the recruit depots in Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California, experienced (and sometimes not-so experienced) drill instructors were the gate keepers, teachers and disciplinarians in this process.

Boot camp in Marine Corps was a conveyor belt system that fed an incessant demand for fresh troops for the Fleet Marine Force. The Marine Corps became America's spearhead of amphibious war.

 

[US Conservative]

View attachment 67159578

The Marine in the picture above is tough, confident and battle-hardened. He has been tested and came out on top. Through the crucible of war, he is prepared for whatever comes his way. In his landmark book Goodbye Darkness, noted historian William Manchester, himself a veteran of the Corps, described the wartime Marine as a "skilled blue-collar workman", and "a journeyman [who] worked ceaselessly to improve his mastery of his craft."
In a system that combined esprit de corps, technical instruction, rote memorization and hands-on learning, boot camp was the engine which took raw civilians and turned them into basically trained Marines. At the recruit depots in Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California, experienced (and sometimes not-so experienced) drill instructors were the gate keepers, teachers and disciplinarians in this process.

Boot camp in Marine Corps was a conveyor belt system that fed an incessant demand for fresh troops for the Fleet Marine Force. The Marine Corps became America's spearhead of amphibious war.

And that amphibious war spearhead has expanded into some of the worlds most elite mountain and desert fighting forces. Afghanistan is a mountainous , land locked country and they still fear the marines.

 

[APACHERAT]

And that amphibious war spearhead has expanded into some of the worlds most elite mountain and desert fighting forces. Afghanistan is a mountainous , land locked country and they still fear the marines.

I concur but Afghanistan isn't where Marines should be.

The Army needs to demand that the liberal social engineering come to a stop and get back to it's roots of fighting wars and the Marine Corps should get back to it's roots of protecting and defending naval ships, property, squids and conducting amphibious warfare.

 

[cpwill]

View attachment 67159578

The Marine in the picture above is tough, confident and battle-hardened. He has been tested and came out on top.

Bah. The Marine in that picture is woefully out of conformity with the grooming standards, and needs a shave and a haircut friggin ASAP. Where's His First Sergeant!?! :mrgreen:

Afghanistan isn't where Marines should be.

On the contrary - fighting the nations "Small Wars" is a definite part of our tradition - we literally wrote the book on it. The Amphibious Assault Force thing we, er, sort of just claimed until we figured out how to do it pre-WWII (and boy did it turn out to be a good thing that we did).

Back in 2008 (as I recall) the Commandant offered to pull every Marine out of (then pacified) Iraq, replace them with soldiers, and take over 100% of the U.S. Battlespace in Afghanistan; he was pretty much going to deploy two MEFs, and really GetErDone. It is to President Bush's embarrassment that he did not take him up on the offer . That would have been an epic smackdown.

 

[Oozlefinch]

I concur but Afghanistan isn't where Marines should be.

Actually, we need Marines in Afghanistan for one simple reason if nothing else: To get hard battlefield experience.

 

[Oozlefinch]

Bah. The Marine in that picture is woefully out of conformity with the grooming standards, and needs a shave and a haircut friggin ASAP. Where's His First Sergeant!?! :mrgreen:

Who cares about his First Sergeant, where in the hell is the Company Gunny?

 

[cpwill]

Who cares about his First Sergeant, where in the hell is the Company Gunny?

Company Guns is too drunk, too busy, or too drunk and busy to care. This sort of situation demands the attention of a higher-ranking enlisted personnel with Nothing Better To Do.

 

[Oozlefinch]

Company Guns is too drunk, too busy, or too drunk and busy to care. This sort of situation demands the attention of a higher-ranking enlisted personnel with Nothing Better To Do.

Yea, that is pretty much true. When I was in a Line Company, the Top did not seem to do much of anything, unless somebody was getting Office Hours. The Company Gunny did pretty much everything, Top just did the admin work.

Which kind of surprised me when I later joined the Army, and realized they did not have a position like that at all. I kind of felt sorry for our First Sergeants, cause they had to do everything from running PT and holding all the formations to all of the routine things like arranging working parties and everything else.

Something that the Army really needs to learn from the Marines, make the "Company Sergeant First Class" a real position, and take some of that workload off.

 

[APACHERAT]

Bah. The Marine in that picture is woefully out of conformity with the grooming standards, and needs a shave and a haircut friggin ASAP. Where's His First Sergeant!?! :mrgreen:
.

The Marine in the photo is a WW ll Marine. I forget where the photo was taken, on some island in the Pacific, he probably been in continues combat for days. Looks like the beginning of developing the "thousand yard stare."

There's a photo found in some books of two Marines on Guadalcanal bare chested with full beards with 03-Springfield's and wearing campaign hats.

I wonder what a female Marine or soldier would look like when she have developed the thousand yard stare ? It's something you carry with you for decades. I still see a few in their 60's who still have it.