Marines accelerate Force Design transformation in FY24 budget request
By Megan Eckstein
Mar 17, 09:35 AM
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps is asking for money in fiscal 2024 to speed up its forcewide modernization effort as it tries to rapidly field new weapons, sensors and data processors, the commandant told Defense News.
The acceleration attempt comes as the service learns to leverage new tools and organizational structures under the Force Design 2030 transformation effort, and as threats in the Pacific put pressure on Marines there to grow more capable and nimble.
Documents from the recently released FY24 budget request show the Corps wants $16.9 billion in equipment modernization alone, plus $343 million for the related Talent Management 2030 reform effort and $581 million for training and education modernization. Force Design’s focus is evolving toward supporting the people performing the service’s mission as well as how they’re trained and retained.
Commandant Gen. David Berger told Defense News on Wednesday at the McAleese & Associates conference that the budget request would speed up “everything from anti-ship capability to sensing capability to [unmanned aerial vehicles] to the processing of all that information and intelligence we’re going to collect.”
It also fields larger acquisition programs like the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “as fast as we can.”
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2023/03/17/marines-accelerate-force-design-transformation-in-fy24-budget-request/
