Is holding the line at the First Island Chain folly that risks our hard-to-replace military assets? The Army, which can't sail or fly away with the same ease as Air Force and Navy assets is perhaps sensitive to this issue more than the other services.
The larger PLA on interior lines with the ability to hit lines of supply threaten America and its allies:
“Fading advantages in firepower, distributed forces, and the growing operational reach of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) require an expansion of operational thought,” wrote Maj. Patrick Smith in a recent essay for Military Review, an Army professional publication. “The joint force must consider methods of retrograde to shape advantages in time, space, and force.”
Maybe the problems of War Plan Orange are too great to overcome despite today's different situation. The Army remembers Bataan. And I worry that penny packets of Marine SIFs will repeat that agony. This vulnerability may explain some capabilities that could self-deploy over significant water gaps--to fight or retreat--if necessary.
But some allies whose forces are vital to defeat China can't retreat. And we'd lose one advantage of maintaining forward positions.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
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NOTE: Map from the linked Military Review article.
