Wow, even under Carter we had not gutted the Navy to the point that we didn't have enough amphib transports for the Marines to do their jobs

KarlRove wrote:it's typical for the COWH.

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:

KarlRove wrote:it's typical for the COWH.

Yes it is Obama's fault...... He counts how many amphibious ships the Navy should have and personally controls the exact number. Why has not Congress tried to add extra ships back in?

The Navy's top ship building priority is replacing the Ohio Class SSBNs with a new class of 12 SSBN's.

KarlRove wrote:We have not ever had a dearth of amphib transports as such in a modern era. Renting ships is a national security concern and might create a situaok where a foreign government reneges support to feign neutrality. We have
Now been caught with
Out pants down and that's how the Dems have always done the military before a major war happens.

Markle wrote:

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:

KarlRove wrote:it's typical for the COWH.

Yes it is Obama's fault...... He counts how many amphibious ships the Navy should have and personally controls the exact number. Why has not Congress tried to add extra ships back in?

The Navy's top ship building priority is replacing the Ohio Class SSBNs with a new class of 12 SSBN's.

Sequestration was proposed by semi-retired President Obama and we are seeing the results.

Next I guess we'll be renting rooms on Russian ships to lodge our military, sort of like we now rent space and Russian rockets to deliver our Astronauts to the Space Station.  

2seaoat wrote:Cut the marines numbers in half.....problem solved.

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:The world would be much safer overall if U.S. militarism did not exist.

gatorfan wrote:

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:The world would be much safer overall if U.S. militarism did not exist.

And Chinese, Russian, ISIL-type, etc......

gatorfan wrote:

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:The world would be much safer overall if U.S. militarism did not exist.

And Chinese, Russian, ISIL-type, etc......

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:The Marines have survived such threats to its existence in the past. After the end of World War II, Congress settled on the USMC having three divisions and three air wings, although the 3rd MarDiv and 1st MAW, both based on Okinawa, are nominally manned by units temporarily deployed from the other two divisions and wings.

The Marines are very smooth politicians, and have clout on The Hill. In just recent years, they have gotten almost everything they wanted; especially on the aviation side.  They got the very controversial MV-22 Osprey and F-35B fighter jet, the AH-1Z, the UH-1Y, the C-130J, and the CH-53K will soon fly as a test aircraft. These aircraft were in various planning stages before the GWOT began, but the aircraft replacements have exclusively occurred in the last 10 years.

Hell, the entire U.S. military is bloated and needs to be reduced. Russia and China are the only countries which can really threaten us (with nukes, mostly), and neither has the ability to project power beyond their immediate regions (except for launching intercontinental nukes). All other "threats" to U.S. security are small players who are used as an excuse to sustain the empire. The world would be much safer overall if U.S. militarism did not exist.

gatorfan wrote:The need for Marines is over, I can't envision the requirement for a forced entry across a beach anymore. During Desert Storm the Iraqis placed cheap mines inshore and effectively negated the Marine landing forces. With technology outpacing traditional warfighting methods it's time to roll the Marines into the Army along with the Air Force. The Navy should focus on keeping sea lanes open, not worrying about how to haul Marines around "just in case they are needed somewhere".

KarlRove wrote:

gatorfan wrote:The need for Marines is over, I can't envision the requirement for a forced entry across a beach anymore. During Desert Storm the Iraqis placed cheap mines inshore and effectively negated the Marine landing forces. With technology outpacing traditional warfighting methods it's time to roll the Marines into the Army along with the Air Force. The Navy should focus on keeping sea lanes open, not worrying about how to haul Marines around "just in case they are needed somewhere".

That's where you are wrong. The entire 2nd MAR DIV was in the Gulf as a feint to protect Schwarztkopf's left hook coming out of Western Kuwait/Saudi Arabia to counter Saddam's "Mother of all Tank battles." On top of that, the first into Kuwait from Saudi were the MARINES who breached all of the berms and made a hole so that the rest of the coalition forces could make their way north. It wasn't army, AF, or Navy.

KarlRove wrote:

gatorfan wrote:The need for Marines is over, I can't envision the requirement for a forced entry across a beach anymore. During Desert Storm the Iraqis placed cheap mines inshore and effectively negated the Marine landing forces. With technology outpacing traditional warfighting methods it's time to roll the Marines into the Army along with the Air Force. The Navy should focus on keeping sea lanes open, not worrying about how to haul Marines around "just in case they are needed somewhere".

That's where you are wrong. The entire 2nd MAR DIV was in the Gulf as a feint to protect Schwarztkopf's left hook coming out of Western Kuwait/Saudi Arabia to counter Saddam's "Mother of all Tank battles." On top of that, the first into Kuwait from Saudi were the MARINES who breached all of the berms and made a hole so that the rest of the coalition forces could make their way north. It wasn't army, AF, or Navy.

gatorfan wrote:The need for Marines is over, I can't envision the requirement for a forced entry across a beach anymore. During Desert Storm the Iraqis placed cheap mines inshore and effectively negated the Marine landing forces. With technology outpacing traditional warfighting methods it's time to roll the Marines into the Army along with the Air Force. The Navy should focus on keeping sea lanes open, not worrying about how to haul Marines around "just in case they are needed somewhere".

boards of FL wrote:

KarlRove wrote:

gatorfan wrote:The need for Marines is over, I can't envision the requirement for a forced entry across a beach anymore. During Desert Storm the Iraqis placed cheap mines inshore and effectively negated the Marine landing forces. With technology outpacing traditional warfighting methods it's time to roll the Marines into the Army along with the Air Force. The Navy should focus on keeping sea lanes open, not worrying about how to haul Marines around "just in case they are needed somewhere".

That's where you are wrong. The entire 2nd MAR DIV was in the Gulf as a feint to protect Schwarztkopf's left hook coming out of Western Kuwait/Saudi Arabia to counter Saddam's "Mother of all Tank battles." On top of that, the first into Kuwait from Saudi were the MARINES who breached all of the berms and made a hole so that the rest of the coalition forces could make their way north. It wasn't army, AF, or Navy.

Translation:  Gigantic waste of money.

Slash the military budget and spend that money on something useful such as our own infrastructure.