Marine Corps commandant calls for focus on small forces not just hypersonic weapons to challenge China in the Pacific
by Caitlin Doornbos
• Stars and Stripes • December 14, 2021
WASHINGTON – Marines – not just hypersonic missiles – are key to preventing a conflict with China and its growing military arsenal, the top general for the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
“The standoff [with missiles] from 1000 miles away works right into [China’s] strategy,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said during an event at the Center for a New American Security, a liberal-leaning Washington-based think tank. “We have to be in there [with troops], we have to be close-up and forward.”
In August, China successfully tested its first hypersonic missile – a feat the United States is working toward but has not accomplished. Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., called the test “a call to action” for American arms development, urging more be done to field such weapons.
The missiles, capable of flying five times the speed of sound, could be important in a future fight against China, but Berger said the Pentagon also cannot forget about its most precious assets – its troops – in preventing a war before it starts.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2021-12-14/marine-corps-berger-china-strategy-pacific-3972366.html
