How could Berger make a push for FD2030 if he didn't have the key piece in place?

 via USNI News.

The Marine Corps and Navy remain at an impasse over the future of the Light Amphibious Warship, as skepticism about the program’s viability mounts due to the internal division, sources familiar with the program have told USNI News.

While the Marines remain committed to their plan for nearly three-dozen beachable ships that can ferry units between islands and shorelines in the Pacific, the Navy wants fewer. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday’s 2022 navigation plan, unveiled in late July, calls for 18 LAWs.

“It’s obviously a big battle within the Marine Corps on where the Marine Corps’s headed and whether the Navy really supports LAW or not,” said one person familiar with the discussions on LAW.

But as recently as last week, the Marine Corps said it wants as many as 35 LAWs to achieve its vision for operations in the Indo-Pacific, which would include smaller units moving between islands and setting up ad-hoc bases from where they could fire anti-ship missiles off of the chassis of a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

Here 

Ignore the debate over the numbers (although that is fascinating), and ignore the fact that the VERY VIABILITY of this program going forward is in doubt (the Navy is focused on its surface warfare fleet...I imagine the thought is that amphibious forces are well taken care of with current procurement).

I want to focus on how FD2030 came to be.

How it was planned.

What decisions were made and how much risk was assumed.

EVEN IF YOU MAKE THE CASE THAT FD2030 IS ESSENTIAL.  EVEN IF YOU STATE THAT THE COMMANDANT DID THE RIGHT THING IN PUSHING IT!

How do you explain him making such a seismic shift in Marine Corps culture if he didn't have this part of the plan laid out in stone?

I've talked about what it takes to be a "change agent". I've talked about how you MUST get institutional buy in and how you have to have the end state of your change fully envisioned.

It appears that Berger didn't.

Now?

Now he faced with a huge problem.  No doubt they'll be able to round up surrogate ships but the platform needed to make his dream reality is probably beyond his reach.

I don't quite know what his vision actually is.  I don't think anyone outside of his inner circle really understands this monstrosity (God knows they have trouble enough trying to explain it).

One thing is certain.

The Marine Corps has once again decided to submit itself to  Navy control (while ignoring the needs of Combatant Commanders that might require Marine Corps units...guess they have to request a Naval Task Force now) and the Navy just tossed out the reason why that MIGHT have made sense.

I called it.  Force Design 2030 accomplished one thing.  Making the Marine Corps the Navy's bitch once again.