via Military Times.
The plan to shed thousands from the Marine Corps' ranks next year won't be the only cut -- and it won't be the biggest reduction the force will face either, the service's top general told lawmakers Thursday.
Commandant Gen. David Berger gave a glimpse into a much-anticipated review that will shape the Marine Corps for years to come while testifying before members of the House Armed Services Committee.
Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, asked Berger when "we're going to start seeing you take the knife out and start taking some action."
The Marine Corps' 2021 budget request includes a plan to drop the service's end strength from 186,200 to 184,100.
"That probably won't be the largest [cut] or the last," Berger said. "Why? I think every service chief would love to have a bigger force, but you need us to be lethal. You need us to be mobile. It needs to be integrated with the Navy.
"So, we're going to reduce the size of the Marine Corps some this year, more next year," the commandant said.
Story here.
A few things.
I remember hearing as far back as Amos that the Marine Corps could go down to 150K. I think what was floated as a possibility was in essence being planned in the background all along.
Next if past is prologue the Marines will savagely cut personnel, those dudes and dudettes will (in some cases) be massively pissed and then the next war will roll around and the Marines will have to ask those same people that they mercilessly kicked out being dragged back in...or begged to come back.
Last it irks me to no end that this reorganization is being done in the dark with VERY LITTLE debate (outside of the general's club...which means that its gonna be controversial as fuck), no outside analysis and no input from Marines being affected.
Additionally we've seen this show before. How many times have we seen the US military (all services) tailor make their force for the war they think is coming and one out of left field arrives on their doorsteps?
Confidence is high.
I think we're (if we're gonna look at an example) in the interwar period between WW1 and WW2.
Everyone is peering into their crystal ball trying to divine the future but no one really has a clue and the tech is progressing at a rate in so many different directions that we're all probably missing the next great couple of innovations that will decide future combat.
I like Berger. He's bold. He's trying to be a change agent, but like most change agents he's doomed to failure for one simple reason. He's not getting buy in on his plans and unless he gets support for this effort it just won't succeed.
