NOTE: I'm looking at PROBABLE budget cuts to the Marine Corps and I'm becoming alarmed. Between a force reduction that will leave only 150,000 boat spaces to the need to get new armored vehicles to the drain that the air wing is having on the service, I decided to do a what if. How would the Marine Corps look if I was in the big chair making the choices.
How Would I Build The Marine Corps.
*The Marine Corps is built around the Infantry. I would guard my Infantry Battalions like a mother bear guards her cubs.
1. EFV. It got killed because it ran over budget. Awesome. Strip it down, get rid of the planing, put the most powerful water jets known to man on it and give me a water speed of at least 10 knots or better and I'm happy. It would also lose the 30mm cannon and get either a 50 cal RWS or an upgraded AAV turret.
2. LAV-25. Put out to pasture. I'd redesignate LAV Battalions to Light Armored Infantry, and put them in Marine Personnel Carriers. They would get the legacy turret upgunned to 30mm and would be the basis for motorized raiding, and screening of my forces when we go heavy.
3. MV-22. Killed. I'd stop the buy and get MH-92's for the balance of the requirement.
4. CH-53K. Accelerated. These do everything helicopters will replace the current do everything helicopters.
5. AH-1Z/UH-1Y. Killed. I'd stop the buy, piggy back off the US Army and Navy and supplement the buy with UH-60's. I would also seek to standardize on the MH-60 in the BattleHawk configuration. I would sell the AH-1Z/UH-1Y to nations that want them.
6. M1A1. Upgraded. I would leverage off the US Army and either take some surplus M1A2's from their stocks OR make modest improvements (mainly change the engine to a diesel).
7. JLTV. Killed. I'd standardize on upgraded HUMVEEs.
8. 120mm Mortar. Killed. I'd standardize on the US Army's 105mm Howitzer.
9. AV-8B. Upgraded. The fleet would standardize on the latest model.
10. F-35B. Delayed. The buy would be pushed to the out years. We'll have to make due with the current stock of AV-8B's and husband the batch we bought from the Brits.
11. MARSOC. Killed. Quality will suffer either in the Fleet Marine Forces or in MARSOC with the drawdown to possibly 150,000. The Marine Corps must endure. MARSOC is expendable. Marines that have a desire to stay in SOCOM can do as Marines have always done. Transfer to the Navy or Army and become SEALs or Rangers or SF. The Army and Navy are expanding their Special Ops teams but doing so with a much larger base. The Marines can't afford to lose 3 Battalions of personnel to SOCOM.
12. Bases. San Diego Recruit Depot would close and all initial training would take place at an expanded Paris Island. Mirammar. Closed. The wing would move to either Pendleton or 29 Palms. Bridgeport would become joint, the US military mountain warfare training center west (
13. Civilian workforce. Drastic cuts. General Officers. Drastic cuts.
Thats it for now. I'll probably add to my list later.