Archives
Recent
Marine Corps
I am a fan of military science fiction. It is entertaining and sometimes thought provoking to see how others think about the future of warfare. Most military science fiction focuses on the impact of advanced technologies – set phasers on stun – on the eternal features of combat whether by a squad
. . . Read more
Date:
3/27/2013
Amphibious warfare has become the defining competency of the U.S. Marine Corps. Although Marines pride themselves on being able to do anything on short notice, it is being able to force their way ashore from sea bases that makes them genuinely unique. With most of the world's population and commerce
. . . Read more
Date:
2/19/2013
The shift of U.S. military strategy to an Asia-Pacific focus has big implications for the Marine Corps. Unlike in Europe and the Middle East, distances are vast and there are few U.S. bases. But the littoral nations of East Asia have become the industrial heartland of the new global economy, so
. . . Read more
Date:
6/5/2012
The most maligned weapons system in modern times is turning out to also be the most versatile, and maybe the safest. The V-22 Osprey was used last month to rescue a downed fighter pilot in Libya, opening a new chapter in the fast-growing chronicle of tilt-rotor successes. Many critics lost track
. . . Read more
Date:
4/5/2011
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently recommended cancellation of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), a program the Marine Corps was funding to replace its decrepit fleet of Cold War amphibious vehicles. Gates cited the high cost of EFV as the main motivation for his decision, but EFV
. . . Read more
Date:
1/18/2011
The official mission of the Marine Corps as established in the National Security Act of 1947 is to be trained, organized and equipped for offensive amphibious employment. This means doing Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Inchon. The Marine Corps is also to be a “force in readiness” which
. . . Read more
Date:
8/25/2010
Robert Gates knows how to manage bureaucracies. He began his career as a Sovietologist in the intelligence community during the Nixon-Kissinger era, at a time when America's national-security apparatus was an arena of byzantine intrigue. So you can't always take what he says at face value. The speech
. . . Read more
Date:
5/6/2010
Inside the Navy reports this week that the Marine Corps has launched a congressional lobbying campaign to undercut the Navy's shipbuilding goals, citing a chart entitled "Marine Corps Shipbuilding Requirements" that was briefed on December 18. Among other things, the chart calls for building
. . . Read more
Date:
1/14/2010


