Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
OUTSTANDING! need to send that to Uncle Bob (SECDEF) cause I don't think he gets it. That is also what AIRBORNE warfare is all about, as JCUSTIS said a while back there is no difference. As the future becomes more unpredictable we MOST likely to need more Amphibious capabilities not less.

Also, remember Haiti!!!
Now we're back to chiding what we don't understand for the sake of a pissing contest.

Its not on my word that calls Amphibious Warfare the most complex of all modern military maneuvers, just everything that's written on the subject. And its not that Gates doesn't know or understand this.

He's not saying, How is Amphibious Warfare relevant..?, but convince me how YOUR vision of (future) Amphibious Operations is relevant to MY vision of where I want to take the DOD.




But... this is not the 1st time Gates & the Corps have been at odds over the way Gates envisioned something & he challenged the Corps to change his mind; and they did.

3yrs ago CMC Gen Conway said Anbar is pacified, my Marines are bored, & within a year I would like to begin shifting Our Marines from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Gates publicly chided Conway & said there NO plans to shift the Marines to A'stan & that the Marines will stay in Anbar until the end of our involvement in Iraq.

Gates & Conway tactfully went back & forth in the media for months w/Gates finally laying down the Gauntlet in Dec '07 saying the Marines have presented no viable plan for shifting forces to A'stan.

The opportunity came in Jan '08 when NATO fell 5,000 troops short of the goal set by Gates. The Marines presented a plan to insert 3500 Marines in 3mths along with a new strategy for their area.

1yr later Gates was convinced & there were 10,000 more Marines in A'stan & 10,000 less in Iraq.


Gates is simply telling HQMC, We don't see eye to eye on whats relevant (in both Strategy & Procurement). He's challenging them to convince me.