Lawman
Well-Known Member
China is increasing its influence into Pacific island countries.
This is so they can station long range anti ship missiles and control the west Pacific down to, and including Australia and New Zealand.
The Marines found that heavy tanks and few large ships would be ineffective for future conflicts with China.
New acquisitions include small vehicles and smaller landing ships (Light Amphibious Warships).
It's "island hopping" all over again, this time with hyper sonic anti ship missiles.
But that turns the Marines into a far more niche force and screws a whole lot of doctrine in the process.
Yes returning to the amphibious routes is paramount after the two decades in the desert we all just went through, but reshaping it entirely to that fight is the Marines saying “I’m good for the South Pacific, and the Caribbean... Don’t call me for Africa/Southcom/etc.”
The Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) filled a very critical gap in reaction time between the light global reaction force and the heavier hitting power that would take weeks if not months to assemble into a region. They did that because they were for lack of a better term a small self contained military that had just enough of all the flavors to make a wedge in the door and hold open the gap while something like I Corps began the slow movement to mobilize.
Optimizing the Marines into the Niche they are moving toward is going to mean a whole lot of everything else has to change in respect to rapid force projection. Those light elements will have to be much heavier and will slow the reaction, likewise the heavy stuff will have to do without limiting its hitting power and sustainment ability. And there will be a much larger need for a way to move that stuff which isn’t organic meaning beefing up Airlift and Sealift in ways we don’t currently have.
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