via Military Times.
Making his case before the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday for the Marine Corps' $47.86 billion budget request, Berger said he has reduced headquarters staffing by 15%, cut legacy systems and end strength, and has nothing left to draw from to fund programs and projects.
"We have wrung just about everything we can out of the Marine Corps internally," Berger said. "We're at the limits of what I can do."
The Marine Corps' budget request represents a 6.2% increase from fiscal 2021, even as the service plans to reduce the size of the active-duty force by 2,700, to 178,500 Marines.
So Berger's Folly gives us a smaller force.
Less capable force.
Only useful in the Pacific against the Chinese.
Yet he's requesting a 6.2% increase in monies? But wait it gets better!
The service also plans to invest in its new amphibious combat vehicle, buying 92 per year. It also plans to buy eight Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, or GATOR, systems for $300 million.
As part of the planned cuts, the service will divest itself of some or all of its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles as well as the M88A2 Hercules Recovery Vehicle and the vehicle-mounted Training Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device-Electronic Warfare (CREW) system, "since it no longer meets training objectives," according to budget documents.
The Marine Corps submitted a $3 billion list of its unfunded priorities to Congress this year, items that Berger said are needed to counter the "pacing threat" of China, which is rapidly building up its strategic forces.
The top wishes on the list include two types of anti-ship missiles, including 35 anti-ship Naval Strike Missiles for $57.8 million, and 48 Tactical Tomahawk long-range anti-ship and strike missiles for $96 million.
The list also includes two KC-130J aircraft for $197.7 million -- replacements for aircraft that were lost in 2018 in Japan and last year in California.
All this friction and chaos that's been brought to the Corps. All this talk about getting ready to fight the Chinese and how a "Littoral" Marine Corps (batshit stupid idea...this thing will go down in military history as the most batshit crazy thing any force has ever attempted) is what it will take to turn the tide on the high seas and all we get out of it is 82 missiles?
Let's fast forward this to its end state.
Let's say Berger can somehow magic his way to 1,000 missiles. Setup and operated remotely without putting any Marine in harms way while doing the same with sensors that can detect enemy ships and AI to run it all (with a human in the loop).
Do you think it would work then?
I don't. I think they'll be subjected to counter recon, will be located and will be micro fragmented into dust shortly after hostilities commence.
Read this propaganda piece here.
I don't know where this thing came from. I can't believe the brains in the Marine Corps actually thought this up.
It will fail.
The next Commandant will take his entire term trying to unwind this mess but it does lead us to a bigger issue and one that we will eventually have to attack.
The Marine Corps once was assumed to have it figured out at the Commandant level.
It was always assumed that the person in that chair had it right.
Not anymore and that's troubling.
Ever since Amos the Marine Corps has been on a losing streak when it came to Commandants. I don't know why it is but it is.
What happened?
What changed?
How can we have a string of such uninspiring, low confidence, untalented leadership all pushing transformative agendas that lead nowhere?
What is going on at Quantico and how is this stuff making it past the O-Club into actual funding?
