United States Marine Corps: News

The US Marine Corps began to receive new wheeled armored personnel carriers ACV

U.S. Marine Corps disbanded its last tank battalion

I sincerely hope that if the need for tankers ever arises again, the fighting spirit that has been inherent in our battalion for most of a century will be resurrected and inspire the next generations of Marines, as it was on November 1, 1941.

The Marine Corps is gearing up to conduct combat exercises with its information warriors. Doesn't sound like the leathernecks of yore, does it? As America's military transitions from the global war on terror to great-power competition with near-peers like Russia and China, the Marines are rethinking what they need to deter or defeat in the future. One area where they need to bolster skills is protection of battlefield networks, because Russia and China are able to conduct cyber attacks and electronic warfare.

So the Marines are putting more emphasis on information operations in their preparations for combat, because if your communications are jammed or your intelligence data is corrupted in wartime, fighting effectively could be hard. The latest Marine Operating Concept (the Corps' plan for fighting and winning future wars) is heavily focused on securing and exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum.

Once you get beyond that innovation, though, what you find is a service returning to its roots: maneuver warfare, amphibious operations, "every Marine a rifleman." And with good reason. The operational environment of the future looks better suited to the agile, expeditionary strengths of the Marine Corps than it does to the ponderous, industrial-age traditions of the Army. The Marines have made rising China the pacing threat for their plans, while the Army is focused mainly on Russia in Europe. The White House cares more about China.

Because the Marine Corps and Navy are so much better prepared for combat in the Western Pacific than the Army and Air Force are -- at least, once you get away from the Korean Peninsula -- there is a case to be made that the Marines will dominate U.S. ground combat operations in the future. They certainly look poised to be called on more frequently than the Army for missions like crisis response and regional deterrence.

In fact, if Washington scales back its military presence in Korea and U.S. relations with European NATO nations stay on their present vector, the Army might have trouble finding things to do in the years ahead. Not so the Marine Corps, which will be forward deployed near every potential flashpoint in the global littorals where 80% of the world's population and the vast preponderance of its commerce are found. Here are five reasons why the Marine Corps is likely to be the face of U.S. ground combat operations in the future.

An identity that matches what national strategy requires today. The Marine Corps is a naval expeditionary force focused on maneuver warfare and amphibious operations. What that means in practical terms is that the Marines are postured for fast foreign deployment, and they are based at sea rather than depending on land bases. They defeat enemies by throwing them off balance, using the sea as a maneuver space to surprise and deceive. Because their bases are mobile and positioned near trouble spots, they will almost always be the first foreign troops that respond. The Marine Corps is thus uniquely prepared for a world of unpredictable threats and fluid relations.


Training that focuses on basic warfighting skills and adaptability. Expeditionary warfare requires self-sufficiency, so Marines are trained to operate in austere conditions with minimal assistance from other services. Their combat units combine ground, air, logistical and command elements in an integrated structure focused on the support of infantry. Whatever their combat specialties may be, all Marines receive basic infantry training so that they can operate flexibly in fast-moving campaigns. Marine warfighting doctrine delegates responsibility to the lowest levels within combat units, and encourages initiative among junior personnel. U.S. Marines thus tend to be more resilient than the warfighters of other nations.

Technology that surpasses enemy gear and fits the moment. Although the Marine Corps claims only 7% of the defense budget and receives a fraction of what the Army does for equipment, it has invested wisely. Its MV-22 Osprey is the world's only operational tilt-rotor, combining the vertical agility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing plane. Its F-35B fighter is the world's only stealthy tactical aircraft capable of landing on a dime, without a runway. Its Amphibious Combat Vehicle (awarded to BAE Systems this week) will be the most capable ship-to-shore fighting vehicle ever built. So Marines have options for assaulting and defeating hostile forces that other services lack.

A warrior culture that emphasizes bravery and self-sacrifice. Anyone who volunteers for military service knows they might have to die for their nation. However, awareness of that fact seems closer to the surface in Marine Corps culture than in the other services. Marines are taught to be tough, exhibiting physical and moral courage in the most harrowing circumstances. Although Marine formations are scalable and tailorable to tactical challenges, combat training focuses on small units that, as the Corps puts it, are led by warfighters "biased to action." The end result is highly disciplined killers who can respond to any contingency across the spectrum of conflict.

A leadership that is politically adept but principled. Marines tend to operate more effectively in political jobs than warfighters hailing from other military services. It is no coincidence that the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff both come from the smallest of the four military services under the Department of Defense. The Marine Corps seems to have done a better job than the Army of training its general officers for sensitive joint assignments, and as a result Marine thinking permeates the senior leadership of the national defense establishment. This presumably influences how warfighting options are assessed when conflicts arise.

To summarize, the competencies, training, technology, culture and influence of the Marine Corps make it more likely to be the preferred choice in future ground combat campaigns than the Army. If prolonged occupation of other countries is required then the superior numbers of the Army's active and reserve components might make it a crucial contributor to any campaign. But at the moment domestic political sensibilities seem to be trending away from long-term occupations, just as they are trending away from support for European defense. Nation building is not a franchise for the future, nor is the protection of allies who seem unwilling to help themselves.

However, there is one facet of Marine Corps preparedness that needs to be addressed if the service is to achieve its full potential in support of future military operations. A military organization that relies on warships for its bases needs an adequate number of warships. At the moment, the Marine Corps is several ships short of the 38 amphibious vessels it would need to lift two full expeditionary brigades, and that's before items like wartime attrition are taken into account. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments has calculated the Marines actually need 40 "amphibs" -- 11 large-deck, 29 small-deck -- to meet future operating requirements, and that is probably the right number.

Those ships are purchased and operated by the Navy, which has to balance the demands of amphibious warfare against the competing needs of surface warfare, undersea warfare, and naval aviation communities (not to mention the Navy's contribution to the nuclear triad). President Trump has provided a fiscal framework for eventually getting to 38 amphibious warships, but at the rate they are being built, that will take a long, long time. Considering how indispensible the Marine Corps is likely to be in the future operating environment, it seems there is a convincing case to be made for accelerating the pace at which warships suitable for amphibious warfare are purchased and put to sea.

Hole wrote:The MV-22 can transport less then a Mi-8 but costs 5 times more. And it can only transform from heli to plane mode when the weather is fine.
The F-35B is as stealthy as a Cadillac and can haul less warload in VTOL mode then a UH-1 heli.
The ACV has been in development since the middle of the 90´s (in one form or another). Not much to show, except large bills for the taxpayer.

And the Marines got rid of their tanks. No heavy artillery. They can only fight lightly armed enemies.

Another important point: they need ships to get close to the shore, so the enemy shouldn´t have coastal defence missiles like Bal and Bastion.

GarryB wrote:The new gun system was supposed to provide fire support for landing forces on the cheap that could hit point targets out to several hundred kms with excellent precision for the price of an artillery shell instead of a million dollar cruise missile.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing becomes the first Marine squadron to deploy the F-35C on an aircraft carrier.
The F-35C Lightning II of the U.S. Marine Corps reached yet another milestone, with the type leaving for the first operational deployment aboard an aircraft carrier. The F-35s of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 “Black Knights”, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, arrived on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on January 3, 2022, together with the other squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine. The USS Lincoln is leaving San Diego with Carrier Strike Group 3 to head for the Pacific Ocean.

“The Black Knight’s deployment of F-35C Lightning II aboard USS Abraham Lincoln is the newest chapter in the Marine Corps’ long history of naval integration,” said Maj. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, 3rd MAW commanding general. The upcoming deployment represents years of hard work and innovation by the Marines and Sailors of VMFA-314, MAG-11, and 3rd MAW. It also reinforces our commitment to fielding the most lethal and ready Navy-Marine Corps force as we project warfighting capabilities throughout the Indo-Pacific region, or globally wherever our nation calls.”

The Marines consider the capability to deploy operationally the F-35C significant as it was specifically built for aircraft carrier operations, as well as enhancing the battlespace awareness of all aircraft in the Carrier Air Wing, contributing to a flexible, mobile force that expands the US military advantage at sea. This is especially true in a contested maritime region like the Pacific Ocean, where the presence of the 5th gen fighter aircraft might contribute to the regional stability while providing security for the US and allies.

“Our ability to operate the F-35C in the Pacific greatly increases the Marine Corps’ naval expeditionary force capabilities by providing us the capacity to employ the most advanced electronic warfare capabilities on any aircraft today in support of fleet operations,” said Lt. Col. Brendan M. Walsh, VMFA-314 commanding officer. “In addition, having this asset available greatly increases the Marine Corps’ ability to provide security to our allied nations and preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The 3rd MAW has also demonstrated the F-35’s long-range aerial maritime strike capabilities last summer during Exercise Summer Fury 21. During the exercise, which is the largest Marine aviation exercise on the West Coast, the Wing’s F/A-18C Hornets and F-35s flew from Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar to Washington State, a distance of more than one thousand miles, to deliver long-range precision fires on a simulated enemy naval surface combatant in a distributed, maritime environment.

“The Summer Fury long-range strike is an opportunity for 3rd MAW to execute a maritime strike against an enemy surface combatant while being supported by an aerial-delivered forward arming and refueling point,” said Lt. Col. Duncan A. French, 3rd MAW lead operations planner. “The concepts and tasks inherent in this mission are critical to the success of a fight against a peer adversary.”

The first operational deployment of the F-35C comes as a culminating effort as VMFA-314 completed its workups last year with Carrier Air Wing Nine on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. The last step off the workups saw VMFA-314 completing their final integrated training cycle along other elements of Carrier Strike Group Three in December as the Marine Corps continues to develop its 5th Generation strike fighter capabilities.

The development of the USMC’s is 5th Generation strike fighter capabilities to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future operating environment is still ongoing, as VMFA-314 became the first squadron in the Marine Corps to declare the Full Operational Capability (FOC) for the F-35C Lightning II in July 2021. VMFA-314 was the first Marine Corps squadron to transition to the F-35C variant of the Joint Strike Fighter after retiring its legacy F/A-18A/C aircraft and receiving its first F-35C in January 2020 from Naval Air Station Lemoore and declared the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by the end of the year.

The Abraham Lincoln Combat Strike Group is led by the command staff of CSG 3 and consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 9, the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) and the guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 21 (DESRON 21) – USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Spruance (DDG 111). This is also the first time in the U.S. Navy history that a woman, Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, has been assigned the command of an aircraft carrier and will lead it on an operational deployment.

The Carrier Air Wing Nine includes eight squadrons: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 “Black Knights”, flying F-35Cs; Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14 “Tophatters” and Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 “Vigilantes”, flying F/A-18E Super Hornets; Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 “Black Aces”, flying F/A-18F Super Hornets; Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133 “Wizards”, flying EA-18G Growlers; Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 117 “Wallbangers”, flying E-2D Hawkeyes; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14 “Chargers”, flying MH-60S Knight Hawks Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 “Raptors”, flying MH-60R Sea Hawks.