Not going to lie. The Department of Defense War is just humiliating the Marine Corps these days.
Huh:
Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) concluded joint aviation training with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, boosting interoperability and readiness in the Indo-Pacific region. On Sept. 7 and 11, 2025, off the coast of Pearl Harbor, America served as a floating airfield for rotary-wing aircraft from the Army’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) and Marine Corps’ Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 268.
The Marines complain that there are not enough amphibious warfare ships. But the Army is training to use them? This is different than the 1990s thinking that included an intervention in Haiti using Army ground troops on a carrier. Although I only think such dual-purpose super carriers are necessary if the Navy downgrades super carriers in sea control distributed maritime operations.
But I digress.
Apparently the Marines are stuck in that awkward gap between being assault infantry and effective anti-ship forces.
Maybe the new light Army Mobile Brigades could be assault troops from the sea given I have no confidence they can succeed in high-intensity conventional combat operations. While no heavier than Marines, at least the Army has tanks and tube artillery if the Mobile Brigades need them.
This training was just for the 25th Infantry Division's helicopters. How long before the division's ground troops are included?
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NOTE: U.S. Navy photo by MCSN Nicholas Douglass in the linked article.
