Gates: Time has come to re-examine future of Marine Corps

[unhappycamper]

Gates: Time has come to re-examine future of Marine Corps
By Kevin Baron
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 12, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO — After nearly a decade of constant warfare and with a new commandant arriving shortly, the time has come once again to redefine the purpose and size of the Marine Corps, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

“After the surge ends in Afghanistan, they’re probably going to reduce some,” Gates during a visit to California. “They’ve gotten too big.”

Earlier Thursday in San Diego, Gates told the crew of the destroyer USS Higgins that while the Navy would not likely continue to downsize its personnel, the Marine Corps is on its way to a reduction. The Marines have grown to 202,000 people from 175,000, he noted. Marine Corps leaders have said they want a smaller force.

The secretary said he has asked the Navy secretary and Marine leadership to focus this year’s Force Structure Review, which all services undertake, “to determine what an ‘expeditionary-force-in-readiness’ should look like in the 21st century.”

For Marines, the legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan will be forged from their memories of fighting door-to-door down urban streets, in desert wadis and through mountain passes — in other words, far from the shorelines that the historically amphibious and expeditionary servicemembers are trained to invade.

[liberal N proud]

1. Maybe we could eliminate the Marines

Pare down one branch of the military, save a few bucks and stem the death and destruction caused at the hands of our military.

[zipplewrath]

2. Unify the services

Even I chuckle when I say that, because of the cultural conflicts involved. But in reality, there is so much interservice training, and over lapping roles, that it should be seriously considered. Stop having 3.5 services and have one "gray military". It will still have all the "specialties" that we have now, but they would just be handled the same way we handle "special forces" or other specialized units and tactics. All the logistics functions could be commonized. The medical forces would be under common commands. And at some high level (generals basically) it would be a common "uniform".

[old mark]

3. This is probably a good idea - a mixed military service using experience

gained from special forces combined operations...the professional generals really hate this concept, but they hated special forces for decades, too - interferes with their promotiions and retirement incomes, you know...
We will still need delivery systems - airplane and ship drivers and crews, and such, but not the huge numbers we have now.

Sorry, but as long as there are humans in the world, there will be a real need for trained killers, and I want ours to be better than theirs, whoever they may be...


mark

[ThomCat]

4. That's a very smart idea.

Which means it won't ever be seriously considered. There are too many people who would lose money by even putting the idea on the table.

Saving money can't be a serious option when giving money to those people is the real purpose of the military to begin with.

The pentagon exists to feed the military industrial complex. We have wars to feed them, and to feed and protect the oil industry too. I doubt that national defense or saving money would ever make any top priority list at the pentagon. :(

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Marines will have to down size, but are not going away

They are in fact specialized light infantry, who could indeed be part of a reorganized land forces structure, but I do not see it happening. They are part and parcel of US military history and myth. Way way too popular.