THURSDAY PDB – The current Commandant General David H. Berger has radically transformed the image and the mission of the Marine Corps. The primary focus now is on missile units intended to sink Chinese warships.
To fund those units, Berger has radically reduced the Marine Corps’ amphibious and expeditionary capability. Marines are now less capable of fighting as a combined arms force.
The Corps cannot seize a city from an entrenched enemy, as it did in Fallujah in 2004.
The Commandant concocted his concept in secret, not consulting the retired four-star community that, appalled by his extensive cuts, has united in opposition. Marine resources and organizational cohesion have been severely damaged.
The general’s radical change of direction will adversely affect Marine war-fighting capabilities for years to come.
All of this has been done for a stunningly stupid investment in a land-based anti-ship mission against China that will not work.
It is competitive rather than complementary with the Navy and Air Force, and it is a scandalous misallocation of Marine resources.
Inserting by sea three or four small Marine units, with no support, on atolls in the South China Sea invites capture and defeat.
CONGRESS MUST SAVE THE MARINE CORPS.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories from national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
POLITICS
Lawmaker proposes firing federal workers who resist return to office. GOP Rep. has a get-tough approach to cutting federal spending as the government nears a default on debt: fire government workers who won’t come to the office.
Nikki Haley’s husband to deploy with National Guard to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination. He will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard, lasting most of the remainder of his wife’s campaign.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
FINALLY! PRESSURE IS WORKING – Pentagon leaders cancel drag show at a Nevada Air Force base. Defense Department leaders have stepped in to stop a drag show scheduled for Thursday at Nellis Air Force Base.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Pentagon is blocking US cooperation with international investigations of war crimes in Ukraine. It has been wary of cooperating with the Hague court because of concerns it might try to prosecute U.S. troops in the future.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Satellite data could boost border security, disaster response. Homeland Security relies on satellite imagery for its missions—and it wants more.
Three more states sending National Guard troops to US-Mexico border. They join a growing list of states sending soldiers or other state law enforcement officers to the border.
PUNKS – 5 minors arrested after crowd attack on Marines at California pier. Video footage apparently shows two of the Marines on the ground trying to protect themselves from blows.
CHINA THREAT
China responds to US complaint over aircraft intercept. The U.S. said a Chinese J-16 fighter flew in front of the nose of the RC-135 conducting routine operations in international airspace.
Suspected Chinese spies, disguised as tourists, tried to infiltrate Alaskan military bases. Chinese nationals posing as tourists but suspected of being spies have made several attempts in recent years to gain access to military facilities in this vast state studded with sensitive bases.
China rejects US request for a meeting of the defense chiefs. Beijing blamed U.S. sanctions on its defense minister for its rejection of an invitation to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Singapore.
Taiwan receives backlogged Stingers from 2019 weapons sale. The Stingers and other military equipment arrived as the U.S. works to fulfill a backlog of nearly $19 billion in weapons sales to the island democracy.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Drones hit Russian oil refineries as Moscow shores up front line. Such attacks come as Russia loses the initiative in the conflict, with Moscow increasingly reacting to Ukrainian offensives that are setting the agenda on the battlefield.
Equipment for Ukraine drawn from Kuwait wasn’t combat-ready, says IG. The U.S. Army’s Kuwait-based pre-positioned stock was not ready for combat operations.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 463. An Iraqi citizen fighting with Russia’s Wagner mercenary force was killed in Ukraine in early April.
Macron will push NATO for ‘concrete’ security guarantee for Ukraine. With alliance membership still unsure, the French president wants the next best thing.
IRAN THREAT
Iran plans to escalate attacks against US troops in Syria. Covert plan to kill Americans is seen as part of a larger Russian-backed strategy to oust the U.S. from Syria
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea says it will try again ‘soon’ to launch spy satellite. The projectile, which Pyongyang said was a reconnaissance satellite that would enable it to keep tabs on the U.S. military, crashed into the sea.
SPACE THREAT
SPACECOM takes over missile defense ops from Strategic Command. This comes amid Joe Biden’s approval of an update to the Unified Command Plan (UCP) that delineates military command roles.
NASA team studying UFO mysteries says experts need better data. But panel members were emphatic that they had seen no evidence to attribute unidentified anomalous phenomena to extraterrestrial intelligence.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
WELL DONE! – Malaysia seizes Chinese ship suspected of looting WWII wrecks. Enforcement officers found 100 unexploded artillery shells and rusted piles of metal on board the dredger in South China Sea.
NATO launches Arctic exercises, pledges protection of Finland. NATO aircraft and troops from Norway, the UK, U.S., and Sweden are participating in Arctic exercises.
UAE declares withdrawal from naval alliance, but US says otherwise. A key security partner in the Middle East announced Wednesday that it had pulled out of an American-led maritime alliance earlier this spring.
China and key US partner Singapore agree to top-level defense hotline. The hotline would establish a high-level link between the two countries at a time when Chinese tensions with Washington are high and dialogue has stalled.
US MILITARY
Biden’s pick to lead the Marine Corps helped design its new vision. Gen. Eric Smith Tuesday will serve as the next commandant of the Marine Corps.
Marines prove CH-53Es can resupply ballistic missile submarines. Hauling goods via transport helicopter to replenish a military unit is a routine assignment. Dangling supplies over a ballistic submarine skimming across the Western Pacific is anything but routine.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: Report: Hunter Biden Attorney Deposes Laptop Repairman In Lawsuit
Why and/or how has One (1) General had the authority to make ground shaking changes in one of our Elite Fighting units without consulting and getting the go ahead from other sources up the ladder1????? Do we have any real leaders at the top – ANY????
One may as, who died and left this idiot in charge.
The Marine Corps has been evolving since 1775 and it continues today. I was fortunate to have been an early technician in the field of aviation electronics, now popularly known as avionics. The mission had changed before that time and has continued to change over the past 80 years.
Its first mission was the use of firearms from positions high above wooden decks to protect officers engaged in combat below. It also served as a land force for the U.S. Navy. In WWII, it provided close air support for their ground forces. As technology changed, so did the Corps.
Today, the Marines continue to serve as a part of the U.S. Navy never envisioned before. Space seems to be a natural next step for all the military functions. I’d guess our nation’s effectiveness rests in the hands of top generals and admirals in the Pentagon. Seems bleak now but in stressful times, good leadership pushes incompetence aside.
Or loses the war!?