Time to "abolish" the Marine Corps?
The linked article makes a good point.
With all due respect to Marines past and present (and I really mean that), the argument for the redundant cost of the Marines is weaker every decade. Is it time to modernize, and let the Army, and the Naval special operations teams, perform traditional Marine Corps roles? If the Pacific theater in WWII solidified the need for Marines, then D-Day (a 100% Army operation, and the largest amphibious operation in the history of the world) totally undermined that need. Large scale Marine operations are redundant to the Army, and small scale and support Marine operations could be handled by other services.
This is not an indictment of the Marine Corps. Indeed, their storied history can be retained in the Army along side storied specialized Army units like the 101st, the 82nd, etc. So, the Corps would not actually be abolished. It's reporting structure would just change, allowing it to fully leverage the support the Army can give it.
This is just a recognition of the lack of need for the cost of an independent Corps given how the nature of combat has developed over the past two centuries.
Link: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5615654-the-marine-corps-just-had-its-250th-birthday-now-lets-abolish-it/
Replies to: Time to "abolish" the Marine Corps?
Even entertaining such an idea is absurd. The Marine Corps has always been..:
An effective and needed fighting force. I have the utmost respect for the corps. One of the best soldiers I knew was a prior service Marine. I learned a lot from him.
I have the same respect as you do.
We have respected Army airborne divisions, why not respected Army marine divisions? Suggesting incorporation into the Army and deduplication of spending is not disrespectful. It would be far more cost effective, and therefore far more respectful to their mission of preserving the might of this country.
The Marine Corps’ mission has always dovetailed with the Navy.
Naval power ashore.
Until President Asshole, the Marines are the President’s hip pocket ready utility knife. They are always deployed aboard Navy ships, and don’t require air conditioned tents to go ashore.
History has proven why the Marine Corps is vital to our national security.
History is history. Does that alone justify unnecessary spending?
That fact that you reference a president shows you aren't taking this seriously. Which is fine, but I was hoping for future-looking, substantive reasons to keep the Marines. Just because we had them in the past, and they served honorably...that is all beside the point.
BTW, does the Marine Corps have its own JAG separate from the Navy?
The Marine Corps is part of the Department of Navy.
Navy JAGS, Navy Corpsmen, Naval hospitals, Naval aviator training, Naval Academy ….
Congress determines what spending is necessary.
I gather you were hoping Musk would defund the Marine Corps?
Indeed...already incorporated partially.
Infantry units can be similarly incorporated into the Army for greater efficiency and respect to them...just like the Air Force does not own the 82nd Airborne, there is no reason for the Navy to own the Marine units which end up fighting on land anyway.
The linked video references the unnecessary costs of the current separation, including unnecessary fighting and death, which happens only because the Marines often demand their own combat zones, and will accept unecessary or less strategic zones just to be "independent." The video also mentions the needless cost of integration with the Navy, and keeping infantry units at sea for extended periods...just not necessary any more.
Another take, this time from a Marine...
Consent Management