“in the rear” - a phrase that would have got you in trouble just a short year ago.
The correct term is “REMF”, as in “rear echelon mother f******.
In the US Air Force, a feather merchant was any civilian worker, regardless of their role. Forty-five months loading the bomb, a SAC-trained warrior, we flew for real 24/7. MAC was infested with lazy feather merchants...
Hegseth has a network of those who can make worthy recommendations, and he will have a keen eye for selecting future leaders.
“amphibious operations were obsolete”
Good article. I think that there is a very low awareness that the Marine Corp has been transformed into light infantry. The last commandant gave away the marine’s main strength. Sad.
Where were the House and Senate Republicans while the subversion of the USMC was occurring?
Thanks for the post. If only Gen Gray was still with us. I fear all the services are dealing with much the same. When will the purge get underway?
Some serious house cleaning has taken place like getting rid of that USAF embarrassment Charlie Brown for example. But, much more is in order.
We don't need more 4 star generals than E-9s in the military.
I don't know what happened to Mattis, but though he was never Commandant, he somehow turned into one of the people this article is talking about.
I haven't been impressed with the last 3 or 4 Commandants. They seem to be coming off the same CNC machine.
When the Marine Corps got rid of their tanks, the Army gladly accepted them. I bet if DJT said to give them back, they would be rolling tomorrow.
Then the Marines are obsolete. That is their raison d'etre.
A lot of detail missing from this article. If you research Gen Berger’s reasoning, it was sound. The OGs didn’t like it, but there were realities they were unwilling to face: the US can’t afford a 2nd land army; the USMC had better orient to a Department of the Navy requirement (hello China); and cyber/drone/information ops need substantial investment; 4 tank battalions will likely be a financial and logistical burden on the next battlefield. But Gen Berger’s execution of the plan sucked.
As for the state of USMC missiles, this is where we are at: https://san.com/cc/marine-corps-kills-tomahawk-plans-goes-all-in-on-nmesis/
1 billion USD over the next 5 years to develop systems for littoral combat units: https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2024/12/marines-will-spend-nearly-1b-develop-littoral-warfighting-upgrade-tactical-systems/401688/
You have to believe at some point, a hypersonic will be fielded for NMESIS, but I have not seen anything on it yet.
If you don’t know what Force Design 30 is: https://www.marines.mil/Force-Design/
The Navy thought of Merchant Marine ships as feather merchants, their ships weren’t for waging war, they were for commerce and transporting merchandise.
Wet finger in the air.