Bringing Anti-Armor Back: Fixing a Critical Capability Gap in the Marine Corps
Walker Mills and Michael Rasmussen | January 11, 2019
“You have a Russian mechanized brigade trying to come through the Blackrock Pass. What now, Colonel?â€
This is the scenario templated for Marine infantry battalions as part of the culminating exercise for Integrated Training Exercises at the Marine Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. And virtually the only feasible option to commanders is to withdraw.
Even with supporting tanks, light armored reconnaissance assets, and notional air support, a Marine infantry battalion in a blocking position or a defense would not survive an assault by an enemy mechanized, motorized, or armored regiment. We are not equipped for such a confrontation, nor are we trained for it. We have long taken pride in being the “tip of the spear,†an organization that “does more with less.†But enemy armor is a problem we are not equipped or organized to solve, at least not without herculean effort from supporting aircraft. And at a time when our aircraft expect to be operating in closely contested skies, their unhindered support would be the first casualty of any near-peer conflict, a prospect that is triggering increasing anxiety in the force.
https://mwi.usma.edu/bringing-anti-armor-back-fixing-critical-capability-gap-marine-corps/
