Marine Corps to eliminate Scout Snipers

[Vendetta]

Imagine if George H. W. Bush had shown the guts to cut off MFN after Tiananmen Square.

Unlikely, given the prevailing beliefs about free trade at the time. Pretty much everyone believed that the most effective way to correct said behavior was more integration and especially selling them stuff we made.

And, arguably, the most effective weapon we have is American culture.

I’d say had, past tense, given the cornucopia of mental illnesses that have become the prevailing culture over the last decade. On the other hand, this new “culture” is still pretty contagious, and many people in other parts of the world are still picturing the old America in their imaginations.

[clancyphile]

Imagine if George H. W. Bush had shown the guts to cut off MFN after Tiananmen Square.

Unlikely, given the prevailing beliefs about free trade at the time. Pretty much everyone believed that the most effective way to correct said behavior was more integration and especially selling them stuff we made.

And, arguably, the most effective weapon we have is American culture.

How, exactly, has that worked against China?

[brutus]

It’s budgetary.

The Marine Corps budget doesn’t allow for expansion. Any new organizations and units can only be afforded by reorganizing others.

It's not just budgetary. Where do you get the people for the new units? Mike's post in another thread said that 77% of 17-24 year olds are unfit for military service. How many recruits are sent back home after basic training because the couldn't meet the physical standards?

[Johnnie Lyle]

Imagine if George H. W. Bush had shown the guts to cut off MFN after Tiananmen Square.

Unlikely, given the prevailing beliefs about free trade at the time. Pretty much everyone believed that the most effective way to correct said behavior was more integration and especially selling them stuff we made.

And, arguably, the most effective weapon we have is American culture.

How, exactly, has that worked against China?

We have seen a very extensive transformation of China to a vastly more materialistic and de facto capitalist economy. We’re also seeing signs that the Chinese population is not being bought off. The Communist Party’s explicit assumption of the ’90s - that the population will give up wanting political control if sufficiently rich - is not playing out.

More importantly, the integration of the Chinese into the international economy has given us a massive financial weapon - debt, a China heavily dependent upon Western customers and Chinese assets under Western control. It’s a doomsday weapon, but one we can absolutely wreck them with if they push us too far.

[James1978]

Yes, but that wouldn’t <takes a deep breath> be transformational.

It’s budgetary.

The Marine Corps budget doesn’t allow for expansion. Any new organizations and units can only be afforded by reorganizing others.

Maybe it's time to expand the budget for that, and move money from DEI to actual... warfighting,

Who'd have thought?

Given existing recruiting issues, and the growing percentage who are unfit to serve, I'm not seeing any force structure growth in the near future, even if we did print more money to pay for it.

[Rocket J Squrriel]

Here's something might make your hair stand on end: General David Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps is possible on the short list for Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In the battle to become the country’s most senior military officer — a position inhabited at the moment by one of the most voluble of men and a frequent target of the right — it has come down to a choice between the fighter pilot and the Marine infantryman.

Gen. Mark A. Milley’s term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ends this fall, and President Biden is looking at one of two men to succeed him.

In some ways, they could not be more different — from each other, and from General Milley.

Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., known widely as C.Q., is the Air Force chief of staff — the first African American to rise to that position in a military where diversity in the ranks of officers has long trailed that of the enlisted men and women. He is the leading contender, according to senior administration officials.

General Brown’s colleagues say he is firm and methodical, and that he has a proven track record in the Pacific at a time when a potential war with China tops Pentagon concerns.

Gen. David Berger, the 38th commandant of the Marine Corps, is a white four-star general, but he is thought to be the underdog.

An infantryman with combat command experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, General Berger has shaken up the Corps to prepare it for the future. His innovative concepts about how to fight in the 21st century so angered the men who came before him that they took the rare step of publicly complaining about him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/us/p ... essor.html

[Nightwatch2]

Unlikely, given the prevailing beliefs about free trade at the time. Pretty much everyone believed that the most effective way to correct said behavior was more integration and especially selling them stuff we made.

And, arguably, the most effective weapon we have is American culture.

How, exactly, has that worked against China?

We have seen a very extensive transformation of China to a vastly more materialistic and de facto capitalist economy. We’re also seeing signs that the Chinese population is not being bought off. The Communist Party’s explicit assumption of the ’90s - that the population will give up wanting political control if sufficiently rich - is not playing out.

More importantly, the integration of the Chinese into the international economy has given us a massive financial weapon - debt, a China heavily dependent upon Western customers and Chinese assets under Western control. It’s a doomsday weapon, but one we can absolutely wreck them with if they push us too far.

Only if we have the fortitude, willpower and discipline to wield the economic power and accept the cost to us.

Given the corrupt power the CCP has over the White House and one of the political parties that currently has control over much of the US at the federal and state levels - that might not play out very well.

[Johnnie Lyle]

How, exactly, has that worked against China?

We have seen a very extensive transformation of China to a vastly more materialistic and de facto capitalist economy. We’re also seeing signs that the Chinese population is not being bought off. The Communist Party’s explicit assumption of the ’90s - that the population will give up wanting political control if sufficiently rich - is not playing out.

More importantly, the integration of the Chinese into the international economy has given us a massive financial weapon - debt, a China heavily dependent upon Western customers and Chinese assets under Western control. It’s a doomsday weapon, but one we can absolutely wreck them with if they push us too far.

Only if we have the fortitude, willpower and discipline to wield the economic power and accept the cost to us.

Given the corrupt power the CCP has over the White House and one of the political parties that currently has control over much of the US at the federal and state levels - that might not play out very well.

I actually think it’s more likely they will utilize it without understanding what they’re doing.

[Nightwatch2]

We have seen a very extensive transformation of China to a vastly more materialistic and de facto capitalist economy. We’re also seeing signs that the Chinese population is not being bought off. The Communist Party’s explicit assumption of the ’90s - that the population will give up wanting political control if sufficiently rich - is not playing out.

More importantly, the integration of the Chinese into the international economy has given us a massive financial weapon - debt, a China heavily dependent upon Western customers and Chinese assets under Western control. It’s a doomsday weapon, but one we can absolutely wreck them with if they push us too far.

Only if we have the fortitude, willpower and discipline to wield the economic power and accept the cost to us.

Given the corrupt power the CCP has over the White House and one of the political parties that currently has control over much of the US at the federal and state levels - that might not play out very well.

I actually think it’s more likely they will utilize it without understanding what they’re doing.

That too

[clancyphile]

Only if we have the fortitude, willpower and discipline to wield the economic power and accept the cost to us.

Given the corrupt power the CCP has over the White House and one of the political parties that currently has control over much of the US at the federal and state levels - that might not play out very well.

I actually think it’s more likely they will utilize it without understanding what they’re doing.

That too

For the current administration, yes.

That said, if this becomes an issue in 2024, it may not go so well for the current administration.

[OSCSSW]

Personally I this is a horrible idea and, if implemented in a real war against the Chi Comm Mother Humpers, will cost us a lot of good kids to no real purpose.
But that's just me an old 20th century Neanderthal sailor, with a single malt marinated mind. One who knows about Wake Island's fate.

What do you folks who really know something about this subject have to say?

https://crsreports.congress.gov
August 25, 2022

The U.S. Marine Corps Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR)
Background

On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) announced a major force design initiative planned to occur over the next 10 years referred to as “Force Design 2030.” As part of this initiative, the Marine Corps aims to redesign its force to place a stronger emphasis on naval expeditionary warfare and to better align itself with the National Defense Strategy, in particular, the strategy’s focus on strategic competition with China and Russia. As part of this redesign, the Marines plan to establish at least three Marine Littoral Regiments (MLRs) organized, trained, and equipped to accomplish a number of missions within ontested maritime spaces.

MLR Missions
According to the Marines, the MLR is to be capable of the
following missions:
 Conduct Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) which is a form of expeditionary warfare involving the employment of naval expeditionary forces with low electronic and physical signatures, which are relatively easy to maintain/sustain. These forces are to be arrayed in a series of austere, temporary locations ashore within a contested or potentially contested maritime area to conduct sea denial, support, sea control, and fleet sustainment operations;
 Conduct strike operations with a variety of systems;
 Coordinate air and missile defense operations;
 Support maritime domain awareness;
 Support naval surface warfare operations; and
 Support information operations.

The MLR’s Operational Environment
The Commandant of the Marine Corps’ said “The security environment is characterized by
proliferation of sophisticated sensors and precision weapons coupled with growing strategic competition. Potential adversaries employ systems and tactics to hold the fleet and joint force at arm’s
length, allowing them to employ a strategy that usescontested areas as a shield behind which they can
apply a range of coercive measures against our allies and partners.”

Operating in this environment, MLRs are envisioned to serve as what the Marines call a “Stand-In Force (SIF),” primarily to “help the fleet and joint force win the reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance battle within a contested area at the leading edge of a maritime defense-in-depth.”

MLR Employment
According to a May 25, 2022 Marine Corps Association article “Missions, MAGTFs, Force Design & Change,” by Colonel Michael R. Kennedy, USMC (Retired), MLRs are
intended to:
Deploy to islands, coastlines, and observation posts along chokepoints where their networked sensors
and weapons can surveil the air and surface (and, potentially subsurface) waterways. The timing of their insertion is implied to be in the “competition” phase before hostilities start. The duration of their stay is less clear, and potentially challenging as resupply over long distances ...will be challenging.

Host nation support (if it exists) will be critical as will prepositioned supplies and even “foraging The MLR’s purpose will be to observe and preventany “grey zone” activities that lead to fait accompli
actions. In some cases, it is presumed that they may be the “trigger” that shifts the status from
competition to conflict if any premature hostile acts are directed towards their positions.

Proposed MLR Organizational Structure
Marine Corps leadership states it needs further analysis and experimentation to refine MLR organizational structure. As currently envisioned, the MLR is planned to consist of approximately 1,800 to 2,000 sailors and marines and composed of four elements:
 A Command Element;

 A Littoral Combat Team consisting of an infantry battalion and an anti-ship missile battery. The Littoral Combat Team is to provide the basis for multiple platoon reinforced-sized expeditionary advanced base sites capable of conducting a variety of missions;

 A Littoral Anti-Air Battalion designed to conduct air defense, air surveillance and early warning, air control, and forward rearming and refueling operations; and

 A Combat Logistics Battalion designed to resupply expeditionary advanced base sites, manage cache sites, and connect with higher-level logistics providers. The Combat Logistics Battalion is also to provide limited purchasing authority, medical support, ammunition and fuel distribution, and field maintenance.

Selected MLR Systems
In order to accomplish the wide range of missions envisioned for the MLR, Marines Corps leadership contend they require four major systems they consider essential.

Navy-Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) consists of the Naval Strike Missile mounted on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). It is a ground based anti-ship capability intended to facilitate sea denial and control.

MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude, long endurance UAS. The MQ-9’s primary mission is to serve as a persistent hunter-killer against enemy targets. The MQ-9's alternate mission is to act as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform by employing sensors to provide real-time data to joint force commanders.

AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar
(G/ATOR)
Initially fielded in 2018, G/ATOR is an expeditionary, multifunctional radar system which is intended to enhance the MLR’s ability to perform counterfire and air defense missions, such as defending against cruise missiles and UASs.

Light Amphibious Warship (LAW)
A Navy program, the LAW is intended to fill a capability
gap between large, multipurpose amphibious warfare / L- class ships and smaller, short-range landing craft. The LAW is planned to be a low-signature, beaching, shore-to-shore vessel with intra-theater endurance capable of operating independently or with other surface ships in contested environments in support of EABO.
Future MLR Development
According to a March 2022, U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) article, “Marines Stand Up First Marine Littoral Regiment,” the current plan is for three MLRs, all based in the Indo- Pacific. The Marines plan to convert the 4th Marine Regiment and the 12th Marine Regiment – both based in Okinawa – into MLRs with the intent of all three MLRs being operational by 2030. With the Hawaii-based 3rd Marine Regiment converted into a MLR in March 2022, Marine officials estimate the next MLR transition in the 2025-2026 timeframe and the 2027-2030 timeframe for the third MLR. As previously noted, the Marines indicated they might decide to create additional MLRs in the future.