Next commandant says he will accelerate Marine Corps’ transformation
By Irene Loewenson and Megan Eckstein
Wednesday, Jun 14
The general who has been nominated to become the next top Marine signaled his strong commitment to two of the main priorities of the current commandant: reshaping the Marine Corps and building out the military’s amphibious fleet.
Gen. Eric Smith, who serves as assistant commandant and was a chief architect of the ongoing Force Design 2030 modernization effort, said global threats demand that the Corps not only stay on course with its overhaul but move even faster.
“Force Design is on track — we need to accelerate those areas where we can” through experimentation with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, he said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
If given a larger budget, he said, “I’m committed to putting that to things that we are already doing: accelerating being more lethal, accelerating being even more ready … because we don’t know when the fight starts. So we must assume that starts when the sun goes down tonight.”
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-marine-corps/2023/06/14/next-commandant-says-he-will-accelerate-marine-corps-transformation/