Marine commander fears amphibious ships shortage

Shrinking the military is never my idea of a good thing. Im kinda partial to having the trained personnel and equipment I need when I deploy. I guess I like to win. One of the biggest issues I see is our military being reduced so thin that when the time comes to fulfil ALL the commitments, we are going to be doing more with less, without the things we need and which is not the way to do business. That’s the way to get dead. Remember, those that the US military its telling “No thanks we don’t need you anymore” and booting out of the military  (into a real work friendly environment) are the ones who are battle tested through the Iraq & Afghanistan campaign. Sure, our service branches will train new recruits like no other. However, battle trains some like no other and we are telling those with battle tested skills good bye. When you tell them good bye, you simply don’t regenerate that kind of combat power again…..unless you go to war for another ten years.

I guess if you don’t actually have to go to do the fighting it doesn’t matter to you as much, but to those of us that do deploy, it’s pretty damn important. Like coming home or not important.

Time for a CGar

 

From Janes Navy International

Marine commander fears amphibious ships shortage

Sam LaGrone

The US Navy's fleet of amphibious assault ships may dip below the 33 hulls judged necessary by service chiefs as a result of budget constraints, a senior US Marine Corps (USMC) officer hinted in a Navy League address in Arlington, Virginia, on 18 January.

Lieutenant General Richard Mills, commander of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, indicated that the navy was considering the early retirement of a number of amphibious ships, such as landing platform docks (LPDs), to save money.

"We're going to be chasing it," Lt Gen Mills said. "Although that number [33] may not be realised, at least in the near term, we are working very close with the navy to make sure we have the amphibious lift that we need."

The USMC has long held the view that 33 amphibious ships is the minimum required to deploy two marine expeditionary brigades (MEBs) - notionally comprising about 29,000 troops - for a contested landing. The figure was approved by the then secretary of defence, Robert Gates, in late 2010; previously the marines had argued for 38 amphibious ships.

The capabilities of modern vessels such as the San Antonio-class LPDs, together with increased maintenance efficiencies, would minimise the impact of any drop below the 33-ship floor, Lt Gen Mills told reporters. However, the USMC was "still concerned that we'll have the adequate ships that we need," he added.

Jane's has previously reported that the US Navy planned to decommission three Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships as part of the proposed 2013 budget. The final amphibious force structure will probably become clear on 26 January, when all the US armed services will release their major programmatic decisions ahead of the budget roll-out on 6 February.

Comments

[Mike P.]

Definition of MARINE: marine, noun: one of a class of soldiers serving on shipboard or in close association with a naval force; specifically : a member of the United States Marine Corps. Copied and pasted from Merriam-Websters online dictionary. With out enough ships, there is no Marine Corps. And that is what the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wants, regardless what he says out of the other side of his mouth. Semper Fi.

[bumpkin]

Mike P. you hit the nail on the head, there! This grandma fears a Marine/soldier/military Shortage! And yes, that is what, ultimately, the CIC is digging for. All my life, I have felt secure that as an American, I have strong, brave men and women watching over me-securing my and my families' freedom and safety. I guess I see our military forces as tough angels- and I never felt fear for my family from other low-based countries/peoples salivating to do us all in, because I knew we have a STRONG Military of "I will"s to defend us. Now, I feel a sick need to be protected from our own pollies, in my own country, and I see them eating away at our Military, -and my GREATEST fear is that the power-pukers will order the men and women who have protected me and my family and our freedom for so long, to turn upon us for daring to speak out against their un-American, evil atrocities! How can we know in our hearts that our soldiers wont be told to pen us all up in their FEMA camps when we say we don't like one of their pollies or agree with their rancid behavior? I was reading about one of those FEMA camp-places today, and was reading their want-ad, recruiting contractors to supply them. One of the potential areas of need was to supply potable water to the FEMA camp. They listed the job-description as potable water needed to be delivered to several places, such as shower units, kitchen units, and to the ABOLISHING units (I kid you NOT!) I nearly froze over that one! Thus far, all their long, all-inclusive ad was grammatically correct- so I doubt there is a typo. 'Abolish' is to get rid of, to do away with... SO, are they going to Abolish some of us??? This is not good for Americans. These camps are really here. A friend of the family came across one when he was hunting last fall, in a neighboring county. Shocker... So, Now, I wonder who is going to protect us from these freaky places and people who thought them up. All my life, the American soldiers, the American Military Personnel, have been considered by our family as our watchmen; our protectors! But now, our gov are thinning you all out, unemploying you, radically cutting our Military budget, rendering our Nation weaker... WIll they offer you positions as staffers of their FEMA camps, to help suppress us, help keep us all in line according to their dictates? To me, the American soldier, our Military, our 'guard of freedom', is the SINGLE most important asset we Americans have! I feel lost... Those of us over 50 are likely their biggest opposition, since we grew up in freedom, and with strong morals, and we do NOT agree to lose that blessing. I fear what will soon become of us as free Americans.