United States Marine Corps

[sark]

I could be wrong but isn't focussing exclusively on light forces making unopposed landings an even narrower focus? Also aren't tanks even more critical in other than landings requiring massive landing forces? A troop (US platoon) of tanks would make even more difference to the effectiveness and survivability of a small, light force than a regiment or brigade sized force.

..I agree....tanks would've been helpful at Blackhawk Down ....or if the enemy has armored vehicles....... I thought we had a platoon of tanks with our MAU in 1987... [ I've got pics of them in Tunisia and Honduras-- if you want me to post them, please advise ] ...we had tanks fire at a range in Sardinia, at night = which was cool to see
....they don't have to land in all the ops, just if necessary....it's an extra option for the commander

..but I thought they got rid of all the LSTs?! I was on the Manitowoc and Sumter -88' and 89' South America
[ I use the word ''thought'' because this was over 30 years ago, and my father would use the same terms/language/verbiage ]

 

[FormerDirtDart]

A few things:
Commandant states he would accept a smaller Marine Corps in order to see the Light Amphibious Warfare program go ahead
A statement which hasn't been met approvingly by a whole bunch of former Marines, as you can imagine

Berger: I’ll accept a smaller Marine Corps to make light amphibs happen

At the same time stated that they look at using the big deck gators to serve as motherships for UAVs and USVs. Then I saw this beast and thought about how they managed to fly OV-10s from the decks of LHDs

General Atomics' Rough Field-Capable Mojave Drone Breaks Cover
image from article above


And also some commentary from a retired USN Commander (as in rank)

How to Absorb the Marine Corps into the Army and Navy

The nation can keep its Marine Corps without maintaining it as a separate service.

www.usni.org

 

[StingrayOZ]

That mojave drone is pretty attractive.
I could imagine plenty of other nations being interested in something like that.

Amphib compatible, rough field compatible. Pretty decent payload.

 

[FormerDirtDart]

Personally I see a slew of problems with this. They intend to still use the AAVs when needed in crisis/contingency operations, but not train with them. You don't have to be Clausewitz to see how problematic that could be

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1471221014340198402

 

[SolarWind]

It sounds like the Corps isn't ready to throw out the AAVs, but isn't necessarily seeing a future for them, given that actual amphibious assaults may no longer be in the cards, except in some limited scenarios.

 

[ngatimozart]

A few things:
Commandant states he would accept a smaller Marine Corps in order to see the Light Amphibious Warfare program go ahead
A statement which hasn't been met approvingly by a whole bunch of former Marines, as you can imagine

Berger: I’ll accept a smaller Marine Corps to make light amphibs happen

At the same time stated that they look at using the big deck gators to serve as motherships for UAVs and USVs. Then I saw this beast and thought about how they managed to fly OV-10s from the decks of LHDs

General Atomics' Rough Field-Capable Mojave Drone Breaks Cover
image from article above
View attachment 48702

And also some commentary from a retired USN Commander (as in rank)

How to Absorb the Marine Corps into the Army and Navy

The nation can keep its Marine Corps without maintaining it as a separate service.

www.usni.org

Gawd dang, that'd almost start an insurrection. USMC vets Vs everyone else. That there be fighting talk.

There definitely is logic in it.

 

[MARKMILES77]

Long interview with the Commandant titled "The Path Forward."
First half discusses Ukraine.
Second half discusses all sorts of issues about the future of Warfare and the future of the USMC.
Well worth the time.
And yes he does discuss Tanks. That part is from 24.45.
Available here:

 

[ngatimozart]

The USMC was unable to surge a MEU and ARG to Europe during the Russian build up to the Ukraine invasion because the USN was unable to provide them with sufficient amphibs for the surge at the time required. It wasn't until the the 16th March that the MEU embarked for Europe and 28th March when the ARG deployed, a full month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Currently the USN has 31 major amphibs and in the next two years wants to reduce these to 25. Given the current situation in both Europe and the Pacific, this seems a rather silly idea.

Marines Couldn’t Meet Request to Surge to Europe Due to Strain on Amphibious Fleet - USNI News

 

[vonnoobie]

The USMC was unable to surge a MEU and ARG to Europe during the Russian build up to the Ukraine invasion because the USN was unable to provide them with sufficient amphibs for the surge at the time required. It wasn't until the the 16th March that the MEU embarked for Europe and 28th March when the ARG deployed, a full month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Currently the USN has 31 major amphibs and in the next two years wants to reduce these to 25. Given the current situation in both Europe and the Pacific, this seems a rather silly idea.

Marines Couldn’t Meet Request to Surge to Europe Due to Strain on Amphibious Fleet - USNI News

Replace Silly with stupid. I can understand wanting to rejig the sealift to adjust to different scenarios but it appears to be more of a run then crawl first approach with out fully accounting for what benefits or negatives it delivers and testing it out under near real world conditions.

 

[StingrayOZ]

Currently the USN has 31 major amphibs and in the next two years wants to reduce these to 25. Given the current situation in both Europe and the Pacific, this seems a rather silly idea.

US can't be everywhere. Perhaps Europe should try standing on its own fleet and have its own Amphibious ready group and help with sealift.
Even if the US had more amphibs, it would need more escorts for them. Looking forward, numbers are going down, not up.

While a reduction in capability, US has its own problems. US has been pushing Europe for ~60 years for 2% GDP defence funding.

 

[FormerDirtDart]

...

Berger: I’ll accept a smaller Marine Corps to make light amphibs happen

At the same time stated that they look at using the big deck gators to serve as motherships for UAVs and USVs. Then I saw this beast and thought about how they managed to fly OV-10s from the decks of LHDs

General Atomics' Rough Field-Capable Mojave Drone Breaks Cover
image from article above
View attachment 48702

And also some commentary from a retired USN Commander (as in rank)

How to Absorb the Marine Corps into the Army and Navy

The nation can keep its Marine Corps without maintaining it as a separate service.

www.usni.org

Looks like I wasn't the only one thinking about this application

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1524011470152941568

An article covering the MQ-9B STOL program

New MQ-9B STOL Expands on Mojave Program

At the Indo-Pacific Exhibition in Sydney, Australia, General Atomics has presented a new variant of the MQ-9B Guardian platform: the MQ-9B STOL

www.overtdefense.com

And that article's author's earlier reporting on Mojave
General Atomics' Mojave
which includes a slew of graphics of General Atomics FAA submission paperwork & some from the author, such as thi9s


There is also a link to a PDF of General Atomics Mojave Program submission to the FAA at the end of the article, should anyone wish too download it and dive in.

 

[swerve]

Stick a decent radar on it & it could do AEW for the RN's carriers.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

On 18 March 2022, a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B participating in military exercise Cold Response crashed in the Gråtådalen valley in Norway, resulting in the death of four marines.
Less than 3 months later another Osprey, belonging to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, crashed near Glamis, California on 8 June 2022 killing five Marines onboard.

Amerikansk militærfly har styrtet i Nordland

Et amerikansk militærfly med et mannskap på fire har styrtet i Beiarn i Nordland. Observasjoner gjort av redningshelikopter viser ingen tegn til liv.

www.nrk.no

Son of former LA Dodger Steve Sax killed in California Osprey crash

The former Dodger said his son had wanted to be a pilot since he was young.

www.marinecorpstimes.com

 

[ngatimozart]

Well flying is inherently dangerous and the MV-22 more so because of its complexity. One of my uncles wouldn't fly claiming that if God wanted us to fly he would've issued us with wings. He was a WW2 army veteran who fought against the Japanese so wasn't easily scared.

The thing about being in any country's military, is that when you signed on you signed a blank cheque, payable to your country for the value up to and including your life. It's just one of the risks of the job that you take. You could get run over by a Number 9 bus crossing the street one day or night. You just don't know when your time's up and you have to front up to the eternal Regimental Sergeant Major with your cap in hand.

May they RIP.

 

[FormerDirtDart]

Recent reporting that the next Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) is scheduled to be formed in Okinawa, by 2025.
Reporting is that current personnel numbers are not expected to change. III MEF offered no comment.

Different reporting last May stated that 12th Mar Rgt (Arty) would be transformed into the next MLR on Okinawa in the same time period.
I would suspect the artillery Marines of 12th Mar Rgt currently serving in Okinawa will eventually be replaced with the infantry and air defense Marines needed for the MLR

Marine Corps plans new littoral regiment for Okinawa, Japanese newspaper reports

The Marine Corps plans a new quick-reaction force on Okinawa to counter Chinese maritime expansion in the region.

www.stripes.com

 

[John Fedup]

Apparently the new CH-53K can lift a F-35C. Pretty amazing and as the article suggests, this could be useful for transferring damaged aircraft away from austere island locations in the Asia Pacific region.

New USMC CH-53K King Stallion Helicopter Sling-Loads An F-35 (Updated)

The U.S. military's heaviest-lifting helicopter continues to show off its abilities, this time taking an F-35C for a ride.

www.thedrive.com

 

[ngatimozart]

The USMC are divesting themselves of:

• 44 advanced MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft,
• 30 new AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters,
• 24 new UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters,
• 48 new CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters,
• 54 F-35B Lightning II.

Given what they are expected to face in the Indo Pacific, this appears to be a rather silly idea. Monty Pythonish even.

Unwise divestments are crippling US Marine Corps aviation

The reductions are not the result of insufficient funding or mandated cuts in personnel; the wounds have been self-inflicted.

www.defensenews.com

 

[seaspear]

Is

The USMC are divesting themselves of:

• 44 advanced MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft,
• 30 new AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters,
• 24 new UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters,
• 48 new CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters,
• 54 F-35B Lightning II.

Given what they are expected to face in the Indo Pacific, this appears to be a rather silly idea. Monty Pythonish even.

Unwise divestments are crippling US Marine Corps aviation

The reductions are not the result of insufficient funding or mandated cuts in personnel; the wounds have been self-inflicted.

www.defensenews.com

Is it likely that these assets will simply be taken over by the U.S.N ,as the ships the U.S.M.C operate from are U.S.N ships?, cant see the U.S.N giving up designated carriers like the Wasp amphib. class no matter how small, an earlier article discussing this reorientation did not get the publicity now present
The Marine Corps’ Shifting Focus: What to Know | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)
USS Wasp: The Amphibious Assault Ship That Is Nearly An Aircraft Carrier? - 19FortyFive

 

[John Fedup]

Is

Is it likely that these assets will simply be taken over by the U.S.N ,as the ships the U.S.M.C operate from are U.S.N ships?, cant see the U.S.N giving up designated carriers like the Wasp amphib. class no matter how small, an earlier article discussing this reorientation did not get the publicity now present
The Marine Corps’ Shifting Focus: What to Know | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)
USS Wasp: The Amphibious Assault Ship That Is Nearly An Aircraft Carrier? - 19FortyFive

WRT the F-35Bs, have USN aviators been trained on these jets? Marines have both F-35Bs and some F-35Cs. Surely divesting of "Cs" by the USMC would have been a less stupid option.

 

[spoz]

This doesn’t seem to have been reported in USNI News, which seems a bit surprisin.