2-front war will overstretch Corps

[CommunityEditor]

The Marine Corps cannot endure a long-term presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the service’s top officer said.

Service commitments in Iraq have stretched Marines’ deployment-to-dwell-time ratio to about equal time, a metric Commandant Gen. James Conway has long said he wants to improve to take on more expeditionary training and increase Marines’ time with families.

“We cannot sustain 1-to-1 forever, and our Corps is not big enough to do both,” he told reporters in Washington on Feb. 1. “We can’t have one foot in Afghanistan and one foot in Iraq. I believe that would be — an analogy would be having one foot in the canoe and one foot on the bank. You can’t be there long.”

The strains from Iraq commitments are creating effects on the careers of Marines, he said.

“We are not doing that kind of multi-capable training that we historically do in order to be that swing force and arguably the first to fight,” Conway said.

The impact is also felt by individual Marines, he said.

“We now have a generation of men and women who do not have a complete understanding of what expeditionary is,” Conway said. “That people now believe that three square meals a day courtesy of KBR and a cot is expeditionary, that is just not true in most of the environments where we would expect to find ourselves in the early going of a contingency.”

The Corps will deploy 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan this spring as part of a “surge” offensive, marking its first large-scale deployment to the country since 2004.

The troop buildup is expected to last through October, Conway said.

“If there is a determination to send more Marines to Afghanistan, I would certainly be respectfully requesting that we reduce our presence in Iraq beyond the 1-to-1 to get us to a more likable ratio that our troops and their families can live with,” Conway said.

The Corps has “in recent days” finalized the missions for the Afghanistan deployments of Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, he said.

“The MEU will not hold ground, but they will have a tremendous reactionary capability in the south and in the east and where the commander may see a need for a rapid employment of forces,” he said. The battalion will hold onto terrain and work closely with the Afghan army and police forces.

“The point that we have made in the discussions is that we can’t continue to do it without relief elsewhere,” he said. “We take one for the team through October. Beyond that, I’d like some consideration.”


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...conway_080202/

Learn to Love it Marine. You don't hear me crying about 15 month deployments in OEF and OIF. Hooah!!!!
Stop crying like a Salior.
Sgt. Zo.

[NMWH1985]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Learn to Love it Marine. You don't hear me crying about 15 month deployments in OEF and OIF. Hooah!!!!
Stop crying like a Salior.
Sgt. Zo.

Like it or not, the Marine Corps is not structured to sustain a 15 month deployment. They don't have the means nor the budget.

You try maintaining a service with the fraction of the Navy's budget.

They do great with what they get.

It is not a question of whether or not the Marines are capable. We all know that we are. It is the fact that we are getting away from the Marine Corps mission. We are not occupiers. We get in and then get out. It is the Army's job to hang around. They call us America's 911 force for a reason.

Service Total Active Duty Personnel
Army 522,388
Marine Corps 186,209
Navy 336,214
Air Force 332,663
Coast Guard 41,738
Total 1,419,212 (100%)

I think before anybody criticizes the Marine Corps they should first look at the facts. For you people who fail to do that I put some number at the top. As you can see aside the the Coast Guard the Marine Corps is small. The Marines are trained that there is only one shot, one kill. We weren't and aren't structured like the Navy or the Army. For anybody again who criticizes the Marine Corps just take a look at AL Anbar, Why are these specific towns safer? NO Brainer, because the Marines are there. And for the service members who think that the Marines are crying about it, do the MATH. The Navy is almost DOUBLE the size the Marine Corps and well the Army why even mention it. And if you still try to argue this. a refresher course in Basic Math would help.

Semper Fi
Marine Veteran
and Spouse of a Marine Deployed to Iraq

[jaymarine1775]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Learn to Love it Marine. You don't hear me crying about 15 month deployments in OEF and OIF. Hooah!!!!
Stop crying like a Salior.
Sgt. Zo.

For one occupation is an Army mission, not a Marine mission, secondly the Army is big for a reason and the Marine Corps is small for a reason. You must think the Marines want to be their doing a job thats suppose to be the Armys, learn to love what? Doing your job for you, I would think if you had any pride in your service or even understood its missions you would take it as a smack in the face, that the Marines are even their doing a job thats suppose to be yours. It sounds more to me like your crying Sgt. Zo

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Service Total Active Duty Personnel
Army 522,388
Marine Corps 186,209
Navy 336,214
Air Force 332,663
Coast Guard 41,738
Total 1,419,212 (100%)

I think before anybody criticizes the Marine Corps they should first look at the facts. For you people who fail to do that I put some number at the top. As you can see aside the the Coast Guard the Marine Corps is small. The Marines are trained that there is only one shot, one kill. We weren't and aren't structured like the Navy or the Army. For anybody again who criticizes the Marine Corps just take a look at AL Anbar, Why are these specific towns safer? NO Brainer, because the Marines are there. And for the service members who think that the Marines are crying about it, do the MATH. The Navy is almost DOUBLE the size the Marine Corps and well the Army why even mention it. And if you still try to argue this. a refresher course in Basic Math would help.

Semper Fi
Marine Veteran
and Spouse of a Marine Deployed to Iraq

Actually, the Army's 1st BDE, 1st Armored Division was in charge of Ramadi during it's remarkable turn around. In addition, many Soldiers served on MiTT teams in Al Anbar and are responsible for the dramatic uptick in ISF performance

I only saw Marines of PTTS and MTTS, and the army has 1 brigade in Ramadi. I remember why we have to assualt on the city of Fallujah. the mission known as AL FAJR, its because the army that was supposed to be taking care of fallujah wasn't capable of doing their job because the 1st time they got shot at they would turn around and run back to base.

the corps is not an occupying force, if the army could do their jobs then the marines wouldnt be there in the 1st place

[jaymarine1775]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Actually, the Army's 1st BDE, 1st Armored Division was in charge of Ramadi during it's remarkable turn around. In addition, many Soldiers served on MiTT teams in Al Anbar and are responsible for the dramatic uptick in ISF performance

1st BDE is not the whole reason Al Anbar turned around either.

[Agent0311_guest]

The corps is small at 186K? When I was in 67-70 I think the corps hit 240K, maybe higher. I was an 0311 in VN; I ended my enlistment in the air wing at El Toro. I came away from that change of scenery thiniking that the corps should be reduced to brigades and that the air wings should be transfered to the Navy. Let the Navy take over most non-combat arms roles for the corps.
Special Boat Squadrons, anyone?