... From Fewer Seas

The Navy should concentrate more of its large amphibious warships in the Atlantic for traditional Marine amphibious assault missions. That kind of mission won't take place in the Pacific with the Marine Littoral Regiments in theater whose purpose is to gain sea control in partnership with the Navy and other services.

Wait. What? The Marines couldn't surge a Marine Expeditionary Unit to Europe because in the future it will no longer have the minimum number of Navy large amphibious warfare ships--but that is currently has available?

“Within force design is our ongoing requirement as a Marine Corps and by law to be the crisis response force for the nation. Without those LPDs, sir, and the other amphibious traditional L-class amphibious warships, we cannot be there. And we’re already struggling now. And the case and point was the 22nd Marine Expeditionary unit off the East Coast,” Heckl told Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), the ranking member of the subcommittee.

According to Heckl, U.S. European Command chief Gen. Tod Wolters asked that the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group “sortie early to be on station as the Ukrainian situation evolved, or devolved. And we were not able to sortie the ship[s].” ...

The Navy currently has 31 active amphibious ships – which is the Marine Corps’ current requirement – in the fleet, according to the Naval Vessel Register. The total number of amphibious warships is set to drop to 24 by FY 2024, according to the long-range shipbuilding plan the Navy released last week. [emphasis added]

I don't think the Marines are losing the capability of conducting large-scale amphibious operations. It will take more effort to gather the shipping because the Marines won't keep the same number of big amphibs while getting new small ships. It may require join operations with allies. And it certainly won't be possible in the Pacific given the shift in Marine focus to direct support of the Navy's sea control mission. But it can be done. 

Mind you, I still have a problem with the Marine light amphibious warship design for the Pacific.

But I digress.

If the Marines have a problem with Navy hulls, there is a substitute for this type of capability that I proposed, The AFRICOM Queen, in Military Review. 

NOTE: War updates continue at this post.