“Why is he opening is mouth before it happens.
He is endangering our troops.”
Everyone in the world knows where the MEF is going. It’s the ok only logical target for an amphibious Marine unit to go. X has been full of OSINT following the sat imagery of the LPH and it’s escorts making 30 knots leaving huge wakes you don’t push that hard unless it’s for a time pressing issue. They have to make it through the Straight first , then we get to see how many ASuW missiles , drones and UUVs they have left as surly they will throw everything at the huge capital ship running the gauntlet. Aegis will get outs first real swarm attack test as will SEARAM,SeaSparrow and CWIS on the inner tiers.
Not a MEF, but a MEU.
All in all, four MEU MAGTFs are steaming to support OUF.
Unfortunate that they are now being called for, as some of the MAGTFs are weeks away from being on station.
Sounds like well decks and landing craft are key. The USS Tripoli obviously does not have a well deck, as it's optimized for Marine aviation.
FD2030 has not been kind to the USMC. Lots of promises made. Hopefully these requests for MAGTFs will show FD2030 needs some... "modifications".
Would a MAGTF have been in the Mediterranean pre-FD2030? Perhaps. But as SECDEF Rumsfeld said, "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
spetznaz, pinging you as you always have good insights.