Sacred Cows Die As Marine Commandant Changes Course On Amphibs
“It would be illogical to continue to concentrate our forces on a few large ships," the new USMC Commandant writes in his new guidance, setting decades of planning on its head. So what's next?
By Paul McLeary on July 26, 2019 at 3:29 PM
Marines maneuver amphibious assault vehicles near the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown.
WASHINGTON: The new Marine Corps Commandant has issued a startlingly blunt new set of orders to his commanders, calling for a complete overhaul of the core amphibious mission of the Marines and how they operate once they hit shore. In the span of one 26-page document posted online last week, Gen. David H. Berger made clear he’s setting a new course for the Corps, scrapping old capabilities without a trace of sentimentality.
Berger, who took command earlier this month, wasted no time in issuing his sweeping critique of the Marine amphibious strategy, calling the current approach of moving Marines ashore aboard slow, small amphibious vehicles and helicopters an “impractical and unreasonable†plan that has been wedged within a force that “is not organized, trained, or equipped to support the naval force†in high-end combat.
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/07/sacred-cows-die-as-marine-commandant-changes-course-on-amphibs/?_ga=2.23223484.763937730.1564398305-249211029.1564398305
