Have we gutted our Marine Corps to send them on a futile charge into the teeth of China's missiles?
The Marines are being redesigned into failure:
The Marines have essentially destroyed the combined arms capability of the operating forces to stand up 14 Naval Strike Missile (NSM) batteries and 3 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile Batteries. The Marines intend to only keep 3 NSM batteries permanently forward deployed, while the sole purpose of the other 11 batteries is to serve a rotational pool of manpower and equipment. The Corps’ contribution to the other services’ anti-ship capabilities is minimal and duplicative. Worse, the other services are all investing in long-range, hypersonic missiles while the Marines are largely buying short-range, subsonic missiles that will be obsolete in the near future, if not already. The end result is that Marines will be marginalized, at best, on far flung island with ineffective missiles.
Just what do the Marines actually do after its revolutionary redesign?
Doesn't a Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) need more anti-ship weapons?
The Marines say every Marine is a rifleman. But as the Pacific Marines transform into a full partner with the Navy to kill Chinese warships, shouldn't every Marine be a ship-killer?
I was concerned that I was failing to see the full extent of MLR anti-ship capabilities when I wrote that. I was not missing anything.
“Forward, the Marine Littoral Regiment!”Was there a Marine dismayed?Not though the Marine knewSomeone had blundered.Theirs not to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die.Into the valley of A2/ADRode the MLR.*
What will be left of them after voluntarily inserting themselves into the jaws of death? Will there be any glory to fade?
All the world will certainly wonder.
*With thanks to the original, of course.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.NOTE: I'm now on Substack, with The Dignified Rant: Evolved.
