First to fight: Is this the end of the Corps as America’s 911 force?
By Philip Athey
Apr 12, 03:17 PM
First to fight long has been both a recruiting slogan and an enduring Marine mantra. Marines take pride in the Corps’ history of showing up first, as America’s 911 force.
The Marine Corps originally deployed on naval vessels. In the wake of the Vietnam War the self-contained combined arms force known as the Marine Corps Air-Ground Task force developed, ready to deploy anywhere on a moment’s notice. The United States has relied on the consistently deployable and tenacious Marine Corps to fight her battles at the tip of the spear, especially for the past 20 years of land wars in the Middle East.
But those wars have ended, and a new war is on the horizon: China. It’s the biggest threat the commandant has his eyes on. And it’s the proclaimed reason he quickly and drastically has been working to change the Marine Corps.
Some call him a visionary. Some say he is destroying the Corps from within.
Its evolution toward a smaller, dispersed, missile heavy, naval fighting force has caused a number of respected retired Marine generals to strongly condemn Berger and where the Corps is going. They say it’s a step in the wrong direction, putting national security at risk and relegating the Corps to an irrelevant support for the Navy.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/04/12/first-to-fight-is-this-the-end-of-the-corps-as-americas-911-force/
