Not long ago I wrote a short blog about Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, and the probability that he will be leaving early next year. In that piece I mentioned a couple of things he had said recently that tended to make me a little nervous, such as the idea that future cost cutting measures could result in a reduction or even the lose of the U.S. Marine Corps amphibious capabilities. Unfortunately, we are seeing more evidence that this may actually be under consideration already. Let’s look as some items that are making me think he is serious about this stupidity.First, he is planning to recommend that President Obama select a career aviator as the next commandant of the Marine Corps. The rumored candidate, Gen. James F. Amos, would be the first Marine commandant with a background as a jet pilot. This is a strange pick at a time when the Corps is fighting a ground-dominated war in Afghanistan.
General Amos, who is currently Assistant Commandant, would also become the first Marine general promoted from that position to the Corps’ top job. He served in Iraq in the early days of the war there, but he has not led troops in Afghanistan. He has relatively less experience in waging counterinsurgency warfare than any of the other candidates considered for the job.
Here is where this choice becomes important. When asked about this recommendation, Gates said that he wanted someone who would help the Marine Corps chart a course beyond the current wars. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps has taken on the role of a ‘second land Army’ and ‘moved away from its amphibious roots’.
Discussing the future of the Marine Corps, Gates expressed particular concern about how the Marines would continue to attack from the sea as increasingly lethal cruise missiles push Navy ships farther from the coastline.
“What differentiates [the Marine Corps] from the Army?” Gates asked in a speech. “We will always have a Marine Corps. But the question is, how do you define the mission post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan? And that’s the intellectual effort that I think the next commandant has to undertake.”
Amos has a good reputation in the Corps. He has demonstrated himself to be an innovative thinker about future combat. As the Corps’ Assistant Commandant, he has been an advocate for finding additional resources to treat Marines diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. However, in choosing Amos for commandant, Gates passed over Gen. James N. Mattis, who is widely considered one of the military’s best minds when it comes to waging war on insurgents.
There is nothing wrong with examining and strengthening the Marine Corps role in land operations such as those we are currently conducting. In fact, it is an essential activity. That said, to jettison completely their role in littoral readiness and expeditionary warfare capabilities, would be a blunder of major proportions and would seriously undermine this countries military readiness and it’s force projection capabilities.
I believe some of the major underlying reasons for this whole debate are budgetary considerations, especially in light of the fact that the Obama Administration is quite frankly (and quite rapidly) running out of money. A revamping of our expeditionary concept to rely much more heavily on air power and the air-ground task force concept would be a major cost savings move as it would eliminate the expense of developing and purchasing specialized and expensive amphibious assault equipment, vehicles and ships. The theory is that it would save money, create a lighter and more mobile Marine Corps, and better enable the Marines to perform multiple missions.The argument is a valid one to consider. However, the danger is that the Administration is not moving to change emphasis. It is moving to eliminate the amphibious role for the Marine Corps. That is hugely different and dangerously irresponsible.
Fortunately, some people are paying attention. “The United States’ Marine Corps has been conducting amphibious operations for 200 years. It’s a unique capability and there is no analytical basis for arguing that capability won’t be needed in the future,” said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst for the Lexington Institute. “Everyone we are likely to fight in the future is going to be close to the sea … like Iran, like North Korea, like Vietnam, like almost any place you can mention other than Afghanistan.” And he added: “If the EFV (Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, see video clip below) is canceled, many marines will die in the future for lack of an adequate vehicle.”
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Personal Comment:
2 weeks ago yesterday, President Obama met with Arizona Governor Brewer regarding the Border Crisis. At that meeting the President told the Governor that the Federal Government would immediately implement actions to help secure the border, including dispatching 1200 soldiers from the National Guard. When the Governor asked when they could expect the help, President Obama promised her that members of his staff would be arriving in Arizona to work with her on this within 2 weeks.
The 2 weeks was up yesterday and the Governor said last night that she has not heard one word from the President, his staff, or any one from the Federal Government.
Mr. President, I have a couple of questions. Do you realize that the good citizens of this country living on our southern border are living in conditions where the crime rate resulting from people crossing that border almost without challenge is higher and results in more shootings, kidnaps, rapes and robberies than most third world countries? Does your word mean so little to you that you can give it to a Governor, an entire state, and the whole country and then just act like you could not care less about the problems of our own citizens? Have you no personal honor at all?
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Personal Announcement:
2 weeks ago yesterday, President Obama met with Arizona Governor Brewer regarding the Border Crisis. At that meeting the President told the Governor that the Federal Government would immediately implement actions to help secure the border, including dispatching 1200 soldiers from the National Guard. When the Governor asked when they could expect the help, President Obama promised her that members of his staff would be arriving in Arizona to work with her on this within 2 weeks.The 2 weeks was up yesterday and the Governor said last night that she has not heard one word from the President, his staff, or any one from the Federal Government.
Mr. President, I have a couple of questions. Do you realize that the good citizens of this country living on our southern border are living in conditions where the crime rate resulting from people crossing that border almost without challenge is higher and results in more shootings, kidnaps, rapes and robberies than most third world countries? Does your word mean so little to you that you can give it to a Governor, an entire state, and the whole country and then just act like you could not care less about the problems of our own citizens? Have you no personal honor at all?
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Personal Announcement:
I will be participating in a round-table on Chinese Expansionism in the Middle East being held for 2 days (July13,14) in Coronado. So my responses to your comments and emails may be a little slow those days, please bear with me. Thanks.
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