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By
ARTHUR P. BRILL JR.
LIEUTENANT
COLONEL ARTHUR P. BRILL JR., USMC (Ret.), is a feature writer based in
Washington, D.C., who commanded a Marine rifle company in Vietnam, served
as a Marine Corps public affairs officer and, later, as a spokes-man for
the State and Justice Departments and for President Reagan's Organized
Crime Division. He writes frequently on national-security issues for Sea
Power and other defense publications.
Few people
noticed the tall, flight-suited Marine slowly stride across the floodlit
tarmac to the Marine C-9B transport aircraft at Andrews Air Force Base
last August. Gen. James L. Jones Jr.'s first trip to the Western Pacific
in his new job was the last time a Marine commandant would visit his
commands there in the 20th century. The Corps' "golden age" took
place in the Pacific theater during World War II. Rising from only 4,000
Marines in 1900, the Corps' strength peaked at 485,000 in 1945. Their
Pacific exploits led to today's modern Marine Corps--a thriving,
combined-arms force poised for exciting times in the infancy of this new
century.
On the way to
Korea, a midmorning refueling stop at Wake Island offered Jones and his
small traveling party a brief respite from an onslaught of faxes, e-mails,
and phone calls--even at 30,000 feet over the mid-Pacific, a service chief
does not escape the bureaucratic reach of the Pentagon.
The memorial to
those who gallantly defended Wake Island in 1941 is a short walk from the
large and cozy 1950s-style air terminal. Inside, a smiling cook in crisp
whites stood behind an assortment of fresh fruit, hot coffee, and
pastries. Nearby, a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair sold Wake
Island T-shirts.
Jones and several
others squeezed into a van for a bumpy guided tour. Wake Island is home to
126 civilian employees and dependents of the Army's Space and Missile
Defense Command. They live in one-story cement typhoon-proof buildings and
eat in an inviting old mess hall. The island's facilities have 300 empty
beds in the event a transport aircraft remains there over-night. There is
no wait to tee off on the six-hole golf course--with its dirt fairways and
artificial tees and greens.
Rusted coastal
guns dot Wake Island's flat and vegetated landscape, their muzzles
pointing toward the water. With so much beach area to cover, how could 397
ground Marines--supported by a 59-man fighter squadron, 72 Navy personnel,
six U.S. soldiers, and civilian contractors--possibly have held off the
Japanese invasion force that appeared following the attack on Pearl
Harbor? Wake Island will always be remembered for those who tried.
Later, as Jones'
aircraft took off, the man destined to lead Marines into the 21st century
glanced down at the island surrounded by white beaches, green lagoons, and
the deep, endless blue sea. He saw the Marine Corps' glorious past, a
heritage that makes its future both possible and limitless.
"As we turn
the page into a new century, we should remember the warriors who went
before us," Jones later told Marines on Okinawa. "We are walking
over the foxholes of people who spawned an era of prosperity for this
nation that is the envy of the world. They are wondering if we will be as
good as they were."
Both Jones and
his predecessor, Gen. Charles C. Krulak, came from Marine families who
were part of the "greatest generation." Jones publicly applauds
Krulak's immense contribution that enabled the Corps to transition
effortlessly into the new millennium. "There is nothing broken in
today's Corps," Jones said. "If I did nothing in the next four
years, the organization would flourish. The Marines we have today would
make that happen. The Marine Corps is better today than it was yesterday,
and it will be even better tomorrow."
Making
a Good Corps Better
Across the Corps,
it is apparent that this is a wonderful time to be a Marine. Post-Cold War
world events and the political-military outlook for the 21st century
reaffirm the need for a robust, forward-deployed Navy-Marine team.
Recruiters and drill instructors are producing quality Marines, the Corps'
major acquisition programs are humming, and last year's readiness problems
are 50 percent alleviated, thanks to recent increases in defense spending.
Despite this rosy overview, however, Jones will not be a
"caretaker" commandant. He intends to make a good Marine Corps
better. "Generally, we are making Marines well today, but to ensure
that we succeed in future battles, we need to focus more on our operating
forces," said Jones. "They need more people."
Jones has given
himself six months to shape his policies. Some are already in place. On 1
July 1999, Jones gathered his general officers at the Double Tree Hotel in
Arlington, Va. A day earlier, they had attended his stirring passage of
command ceremony at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.. He explained
his Commandant's Guidance and issued approximately 60 "taskers"
to various entities at Marine Corps headquarters (HQMC) on questions he
wanted answered. He asked, for example: Should we reestablish brigades?
Are Marines enjoying themselves? What is the impact of the Crucible (a
54-hour, intensely challenging capstone to recruit training)? Are Marine
Expeditionary Units (MEUs) organized properly?
"Gen. Jones
gives us very broad guidance. Our taskers said, 'How about looking at this
for me,'" said Lt. Gen. Jack W. Klimp, deputy chief of staff for
manpower and reserve affairs. "What a neat opportunity. We go back
with what we think is best for the Corps," Klimp said. Jones also
told his generals when he was taking leave and where he was going.
"If I don't take leave, they won't, and the people who work for them
won't," said Jones. He clearly wants his Marines and their families
to enjoy military life. With 45 percent of all Marines married, Jones
maintains that family support is essential to the health of the Corps.
Marines are
working harder and playing less as the Corps' culture has assumed more
narrowly defined moral overtones in recent years. Some of the activities
that used to bring Marines together socially are fading from today's
scene. Few can question the need for young Marines to adopt the Corps'
time-proven ethics and values system. However, over time some overzealous
commanders and senior enlisted noncommissioned officers (NCOs) have
created unrealistic performance and behavior standards--a "zero
defect" mentality that can lead to ruined careers for the slightest
digression.
Jones is
convinced today's quality Marines try to do the right thing and that they
can be trusted to take care of themselves and each other. While he will
not condone deliberate actions--such as stealing or taking illegal
drugs--he is urging commanders to exercise positive leadership and to
forgive minor mistakes. "The Marine Corps tries to be perfect every
day in an imperfect society. We should not have unrealistic
expectations," said Jones. "When rounds go down range on the
battlefield, we have no choice but to trust one another. Trust is
essential in everything
we do."
Although
retention is satisfactory, it is being watched closely. The Corps cannot
afford to lose its trained Marines unnecessarily. Jones is keeping the
Corps' standards high. His Commandant's Guidance--which emphasizes the
leadership concepts of trust, tolerance, unit before self, and saying
"yes" to reasonable Marines' requests--should help nudge the
Corps back to a more balanced perspective.
With fewer
lawmakers, opinion leaders, and family members who have served in the
military, no uniformed service can survive being isolated from the
American people. Jones also wants the Corps to stay connected to U.S.
society.
A
Focus on Operations
While Jones gets
plaudits for his "inside-the-beltway" experience and know-how at
the nation's seat of government, he is primarily a "grunt" who
has commanded everything from an infantry platoon to a Marine division. A
Silver Star recipient for heroism in Vietnam, Jones is concerned about
those tactical units that are understrength and short in some skills.
Jones also questions the wisdom of a "fleet assistance program"
that strips people from operating units to help run Marine bases.
"There are
three kinds of Marines, those in the operating forces, those who just
left, and those who are trying to get back," said Jones. In his view,
they deserve more attention. In the late 1980s, when Jones worked for
then-Commandant Gen. Alfred M. Gray Jr., the Marine Corps dropped the
fourth rifle company from its active infantry battalions because of
manpower shortages. Gray never intended for the fourth company to
disappear entirely from the Corps' structure.
"It gives an
infantry battalion more firepower, allows it to sustain itself longer, and
[enables it to] do more things," said Jones. Though he cannot man the
additional units, Jones wants the issue studied. One option is to add the
fourth company to its structure on paper. Another is to designate Marine
Corps Reserve rifle companies to augment some of the 24 active infantry
battalions during crises. Current war plans, however, call for Marine
Reserve infantry regiments to fight as units. When Jones commanded the 2nd
Marine Division in 1994, he augmented three different infantry battalions
that deployed temporarily to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with Reserve rifle
companies.
"The
Reserves were very professional. I couldn't tell the difference between
them and the active units," recalls Jones. He supports the Corps'
total-force concept and appreciates having 42,000 active Marine Reserves
assigned at 192 locations and deeply imbedded in U.S. society. Jones
predicts the Reserves will play a significant role in "home
defense" to help counter terrorism and the possible use of weapons of
mass destruction in the United States.
An
Unstable World
Intelligence
experts still believe that no major conventional warfare threat is on the
horizon. "Who will challenge us in the next few years?"asked Lt.
Gen. John E. Rhodes, commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development
Command (MCCDC), Quantico, Va. But the lack of a large-scale conventional
threat does not mean that the future will be free from conflict or other
threats to U.S. security interests.
In recent years,
two Marine studies said the Corps needed 5,000 more Marines to handle the
increased operational tempo imposed by the U.S. response to global strife
and instability. Today, 33,500 Marines are forward-deployed around the
globe--assigned to MEUs, stationed overseas, and engaged in exercises
abroad. "This reflects the strain and stress our young people are
under," said Maj. Gen. Gary L. Parks, commander of the Marine Corps
Recruiting Command.
The Corps' ideal
solution to ease its current operational tempo is a 4-to-1 rotation base
that gives its deployed units two years at home between deployments vice
18 months in the present 3-to-1 system. The matter is under study, but it
will never happen until the Marines get more maneuver units. "Before
we ask Congress for an end-strength adjustment, we will try to fix it
internally," said Jones. "We will organize to fight the way we
want."
Jones is aiming
for personnel changes by the 2015 timeframe--the long-anticipated
milestone when Marines can execute their future warfighting concept,
Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS). By then, enemy threats could
change, and most of the ships and hardware projected in Navy and Marine
Corps acquisition programs will be in service. Because its new equipment,
aircraft, and vehicles will be faster, larger, and more efficient, the
Corps is revamping its tactics and structure. The road to 2015 will be
evolutionary, not a speed-run, and Jones will probably convene another
Force Structure Planning Group (FSPG) study to guide the Corps to 2010.
"This latest FSPG doesn't make us OMFTS-capable. It is a first lily
pad that gets us in the direction of 2015, but it only carries us out to
2005," said Klimp.
The Corps'
leadership agrees that more Marines are needed for today's missions, but
Jones must be satisfied the problem cannot be solved internally--a
difficult challenge in light of past cuts to the Corps' support structure.
Jones could request an end-strength adjustment as early as this year when
the service chiefs testify before Congress on the president's FY 2001
budget request. Both Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) must
support any proposed manpower increase to prevent the Corps from having to
pay for it--5,000 more Marines would cost $300 million per year or $1.5
billion over five years. "We could afford funding it from our
procurement account, but I don't think we want to afford it," said
Lt. Gen. Michael J. Williams, deputy chief of staff for programs and
resources. "We would have to delay modernization again."
Thus far, Jones
wants the consensus of his senior general officers before moving on major
Marine issues. These key decisions will continue to be made at quarterly
"three-star offsite" conferences.
Requesting more
people in a tight budget climate is no small matter, but informed
observers say that no Marine has a better chance of success. Jones knows
the intricacies of Washington's policy and political system, and his
leadership inspires trust. While other branches of the U.S. armed forces
likely will seek some growth to offset the effects of the past decade's
defense drawdown, only the Marine Corps has demonstrated a consistent
ability to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified recruits for the
All-Volunteer Force.
"It would be
difficult for the other service chiefs, with both recruiting and retention
problems, to ask Congress for an increase," said Parks. "Only
our commandant can do that."
Attracting
Quality Recruits
Marine recruiters
entered 2000 by making mission for 54 consecutive months. They continue to
enlist quality people--95 percent are high school graduates--who exceed
DOD's mental standards for recruitment. Both Jones' guidance and
tomorrow's battlefields demand high-caliber Marines. "When you get
into the complicated world of the 'three-block war' and the 'CNN effect,'
you have to have quality young people or they aren't going to
perform," said Parks.
The heroes of the
Corps' recruiting success story are the Marine recruiters who work 70-hour
weeks. They face enormous pressure in not wanting the Corps' recruiting
streak to end on their watch. Should Jones seek and obtain an increase to
Marine end strength, his recruiters likely will produce them--provided the
increase is phased-in over several years. Parks is optimistic for the
future; he has 52 percent of his 2000 mission goal already in the
"pool" of committed recruits. His goal is 55 percent by this
time in 2002.
"The entire
Corps is focused on recruiting. We have a band of warriors out there who
prepare for their mission like it was combat," said Jones. "They
attack with the same warrior ethic, and they succeed."
To replace 37,000
Marines a year, the Corps enlists approximately 800 people each
week--roughly the equivalent of an infantry battalion. The first members
of the promising "Millennium Generation" turned 17 years old a
few weeks ago. It is hoped that these followers to the so-called latch-key
"Generation X" will be more team-oriented and disciplined.
Research suggests that they grew up under the supervision of more adult
role models who instilled in them a sense of rules, respect, and
responsibility.
"We have
great hopes based on the indicators. Some say they are similar to the G.I.
Generation," said Parks. "Our challenge is to market our Corps
to them."
The Corps is
evaluating its nationwide recruiting market to give every recruiter an
equal chance of success. By FY 2004, recruiters will relocate to growing
areas (e.g., Las Vegas, Nev.). "We will fish where the fish
are," said Parks. "The environment is changing, and we can't
stand still."
About 85 percent
of Marine recruits receive enlistment guarantees for their military
specialty, but these result in shortages in some of the smaller
occupations such as intelligence and electronics. The 70 specific jobs for
which guarantees are now provided will decrease to 15 occupational areas.
A Marine could work in any number of related jobs in that area.
"Instead of selling the kid on being a brain surgeon, we'll sell him
on being a surgeon," said Klimp.
The number of
U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) graduates entering the Corps will rise above 16
percent. Normally, about 155 of 900 USNA graduates elect for commissioning
as Marines. The total number is not expected to exceed 200. The Corps
seeks to maintain a balanced, well-rounded officer corps that is educated
in diverse academic disciplines at universities and colleges from around
the country.
"We are
putting the man and the woman back into manpower," said Klimp who is
implementing many of the points in Jones' guidance. "We are making a
tremendous effort to say 'yes' to Marines, and when we do say 'no' there
is a good reason."
Warfare
Community Advocacy
The new
commandant's scrutiny of the Corps' personnel and operational areas also
extends to the organization, functions, and practices of his staff in
Washington, D.C. Jones praises the HQMC aviation department for its
know-how and the way it represents the aviation community in Washington.
"We're now doing that for the other communities," Jones said.
The plans,
policy, and operations department (PP&O), headed by Lt. Gen. Raymond
P. Ayres Jr., is the advocate for the ground community and the command
elements. The new head of installation and logistics, Lt. Gen. Gary S.
McKissock, is the advocate for bases, stations, and the combat
service-support community. Prior to 1999, both departments informally
watched over those areas. McKissock's "integrated logistics"
program promises savings in money and manpower, but only time will tell.
Other so-called "better-business practices" have not paid off
yet--a possible reflection on the lack of a clear emphasis found in other
services' acquisition programs.
When Jones had
Ayres' job in 1996, he established a "war room" to enable HQMC
to become more aware of the external environmental factors that influence
the battle for resources within DOD and the federal government. The White
House, Congress, DOD, the other armed services, defense contractors, and
the news media are all participants. The "war room" effort faded
when Jones left, but it is back in business. Helping to prepare the Corps
for the next Quadrennial Review in 2001 will be its key test.
"Intelligence
drives operations in battle," said Jones who wants to revitalize that
career field. By next fall, a general officer will head Marine
intelligence--a move that should spark a renaissance in the warfare
specialty and groom Marine officers to serve in intelligence billets on
joint staffs. Also, Marine reconnaissance units will be reorganized again.
A "recon" company will be assigned to each Marine Expeditionary
Force (MEF), and a recon battalion will be assigned to each Marine
division.
The Corps also is
studying its artillery capability. The lightweight 155mm howitzer is 6,000
pounds lighter than the current M198 model, but it is still heavy for
maneuver warfare. A mix of rockets, mobile 120mm mortars, and some MLRSs
(multiple launch rocket systems) could be added in a few years.
Jones is changing
the titles of his senior officers at HQMC. When authorizing legislation is
passed, he will call them "deputy commandants"--not deputy
chiefs of staff. The Corps has not had a chief of staff at HQMC in years.
For the first
time in 10 years, the Corps also is evaluating the validity of the MEU's
29 missions--particularly its sensitive "black-suit-type" tasks,
including extremis hostage rescue. Each MEU is assigned to operate in
separate geographical areas with different requirements. "In my view,
MEUs don't have to be mirror-imaged," said Maj. Gen. Jan C. Huly, who
heads the Operations Division conducting the review. "But they should
at least have some core capabilities to offer CINCs [commanders in
chief]."
Prior to Desert
Storm, the Corps could give DOD's unified warfighting commanders three
levels of forces--ranging from a 2,000-person MEU to an MEF of 37,000. A
Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) was the third tier with about 16,000
people assigned. After 1991, the MEB was renamed an "MEF
Forward," and the brigade capability was benched. Jones is bringing
the brigade back. He is an advocate of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF),
and each of the three MPF squadrons and the prepositioning sites in Norway
are designed to support a MEB-sized force. "People understand
brigades, not 'MEF Forwards,'" Jones said. "I want the joint
world to know that we have a middle tier."
The
Navy-Marine Corps Team
Cooperation
between the Navy and Marine Corps is tight today--thanks in part to
Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig's emphasis, the availability of some
additional defense funding in the FY 1999 and 2000 budgets, and the close
relationship Jones enjoys with Adm. Jay L. Johnson, chief of naval
operations. The two discuss key issues in regular meetings of the
"Big Eight" group consisting of Jones, Johnson, and several key
deputies.
"We are the
answer now. If the nation didn't have a Navy-Marine team it would have to
invent one," said Ayres. Jones sees no true adversaries in any
service, particularly in the Navy. Having served as director of the Navy
staff's Expeditionary Warfare Division (N-85), he understands the
problems, competing priorities, and friction associated with tight
resources and the expeditionary issues that are so vital for
Marines--amphibious ships, naval surface fire support, counter sea mine
measures, and sea basing.
Generally, the
Corps thinks these programs are headed in the right direction. The LCACs
(landing craft, air cushion vehicles) are being modernized, and the LPD 17
amphibious transport dock program is moving forward--albeit with some cost
growth and schedule slippage. The aging Tarawa-class big-deck amphibious
assault ship (LHA) will eventually be replaced by an improved version of
the Wasp class having a projected service life extending beyond 2050. As
part of this future acquisition program, the Corps is studying how to
accommodate its improved OMFTS systems most effectively. In the meantime,
an additional Wasp-class ship (LHD 8), authorized and funded by Congress
in FY 2000 despite its absence from the president's budget request, will
replace the USS Tarawa--which was commissioned in 1976--in 2011.
Other top Navy
expeditionary-warfare programs of critical interest to the Corps include
ongoing efforts to counter shallow-water mines and to improve the Navy's
surface fire support systems. Over-the-horizon (OTH) sea basing is another
important requirement tied to the future OMFTS era.
The
Lessons of Kosovo
Although NATO's
short 11-week war with the Former Republic of Yugoslavia did not generate
a heavy demand on strategic sealift for resupply and sustainment of
deployed U.S. forces, it demonstrated that U.S. reliance on foreign ports
can impede operations. A stronger, more determined military
adversary--equipped with improved long-range weapons systems--would
increase the risk to U.S. logistics during forward-deployed operations.
The availability of improved MPF ships in the 2015 time frame will enable
U.S. warfighters to end their reliance on foreign ports by allowing
designated air-contingency Marines to fly directly to a theater of
operations to embark aboard MPF ships, sail for several days under austere
conditions, and then launch attacks from OTH.
These Marines
also would be resupplied from MPF ships during follow-on operations. These
improved MPF vessels will be relatively inexpensive logistics platforms to
enable sea basing--not combatant amphibious ships. Nevertheless, some
aircraft carrier proponents have voiced concerns that such sea-basing
concepts will threaten future carrier-based aviation programs.
Nonetheless, the long pole in the tent for OMFTS is an OTH sea-basing
capability.
The present force
of aging MPF ships is tied to the use of ports to offload its vehicles,
equipment, and supplies--they would be unable to resupply OTH Marines in
the combat scenarios envisioned for the 21st century. The effort to
replace them is moving slowly. "People are trying to study this to
death," said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Riper, who issued
the initial future MPF concept paper several years ago.
The 26th MEU
performed well during Operation Allied Force and its follow-on
peacekeeping Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo last summer, proving once
again that Marines are good peacekeepers because they are good warfighters.
The Corps is preparing for future "three-block war" missions in
urban areas. Jones wants Marine combat training to be more realistic and
better integrated. A two-star general will soon head the Training and
Education Division at MCCDC and assume that role Corps-wide.
The Marine
Warfighting Laboratory ("the Lab") may get busier during the
years ahead. Jones supports experimentation, and he thinks the Corps is an
ideal testing ground for DOD. The Lab learned from its experience that
there are no easy answers in urban combat--casualties remain high. With
limited success thus far, it continues to experiment with the conduct of
training exercises in metropolitan areas. Rhodes said technology may begin
to help urban warriors in five-years' time--the answer may lie in better
tactics combined with improved lethal and nonlethal weapons. "A big
part of peacekeeping is deterrence. We do that by flying around and by
using precision weapons," said Lt. Gen. Frederick McCorkle, deputy
chief of staff for Marine Aviation. "Some of our aircraft can put a
precision round through a window."
Marine air
continues to be used extensively during national crises. In 1999, Marine
aircraft helped enforce U.N. "no-fly" restrictions over Iraq and
participated in NATO's Kosovo air war. Sea-based AV-8B Harrier V/STOL
(vertical/short takeoff and landing) aircraft, assigned to two
forward-deployed MEUs, were used in Kosovo, along with two Marine F/A-18D
Hornet squadrons deployed to Taszar, Hungary, and 12 Marine EA-6B Prowlers
at Aviano, Italy, and Incirlik, Turkey.
"We showed
the world how to deploy expeditionary forces and to quickly set up an
expeditionary airfield," said McCorkle. "Our aircraft and crews
were ready. Our Marines did everything from high- and low-level
maintenance to rear-area security. In the future, we'd like to operate
with our EA-6Bs from the same place."
Filling
Critical Needs
The Corps'
air-warfare capability will vastly improve with the future acquisition of
the V/STOL version of the joint strike fighter (JSF). Better
weapons--including precision-guided munitions and precise
digital-laser-targeting systems--also are coming. Until the JSF and MV-22
tiltrotor Osprey arrive, Marine air will be challenged to keep its aging
aircraft flying. The AV-8B Harrier's support and maintainability problems
are especially troublesome. HQMC estimates that 25 to 30 percent of the
Harriers will be grounded in January 2000. Eventually, it hopes to get
more operating.
The first MV-22s
will deploy with an East Coast MEU in 2003. The Corps is now selecting
pilots and preparing for the training phase. VMMT 204, the training
squadron at MCAS, New River, N.C., will receive its first of 12 Ospreys
next month. The MV-22 will be supported by 19 operational simulators
throughout the Corps. Experts predict that the U.S. Army will buy hundreds
of MV-22s once the aircraft proves itself operationally--offering the real
potential for the Corps to reduce unit costs.
Marine air has
seven KC-130J Hercules transports on order--and wants more. But the Marine
Corps is headed toward an all-V/STOL force, and the eventual replacement
for the C-130 and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter could be a tiltrotor
variant that will land on ships. In the battle against enemy air defenses,
among the many options to replace the EA-6B Prowler in 2014 is a tactical
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
UAV technology is
improving quickly, and experts predict UAVs will replace most manned
tactical aircraft by mid-century. Combat UAVs, costing $1 million each,
will stay airborne for eight hours. Surface-to-air missiles, costing
$200,000, will destroy $30 million airplanes and be capable of pulling
three times the 'G-forces' that the best military pilots can sustain.
"The JSF may
be the last manned tactical jet," predicts McCorkle, who has a Navy
flag officer as deputy. "I'm wearing wings, and I don't want to hear
that--but technology is surpassing what the human body can do."
Until then, and
the introduction of the DD 21 land-attack destroyer, Marine air will be
the most reliable and lethal fire support that ground Marines will
receive. Marine airplanes will perform many of the nation's battles in
this century, but supporting Marines is their foremost task.
"Kosovo was
a team effort between the 'grunts' and the aviators," said McCorkle.
"Just like Desert Storm, it was the kid on the ground who made them
wave the white flag. Our job is to get him to the fight and make sure that
he wins."
Jones:
"Exciting Times For the Corps"
Marines are still
using aging aircraft, vehicles, and equipment, but Congress produced about
50 percent of the $10 billion the Corps needs to fill unfunded
requirements between 2000 and 2005. On the ground side, the lightweight
155mm howitzer program is on track, and the first advanced amphibious
assault vehicles (AAAVs) are scheduled to achieve their IOC in 2006.
Anticipating its huge AAAV expenditures ($1 billion a year for five
years), the Corps tried to stock up on the number of generators,
forklifts, Humvees, five-ton trucks, and other support equipment in its
aging inventory. As a result, the Corps' Humvee-replacement backlog was
reduced from 14 years to seven years. "Many critical needs were
filled," said Williams. "We didn't get everything we asked for,
but we've done well."
Some of the $5
billion--to be spent over six years--covered increased pay and
compensation initiatives, two-thirds went into modernization, and other
dollars were allocated for procurement, construction, and quality-of-life
programs.
For the first
time in years, the Corps' maintenance backlog is shrinking--not growing.
"We've neglected our infrastructure a long time. It didn't get broken
overnight, and it won't get fixed overnight," said Williams.
The Marine Corps
still considers the Pacific to be the nation's most vital area of
interest. Five of the eight largest U.S. trading partners are in northeast
Asia. The 18,000 Marines of the III MEF in the Western Pacific are the
most forward-deployed Marine operating force, scattered from East Timor to
Mount Fuji. Marine eyeballs also are fixed firmly on Korea.
When Jones landed
at Osan Air Base last August, Patriot missiles and camouflaged bunkers
stood along the runway. Seoul's 13 million people were bustling,
cosmopolitan, and prosperous--yet an underlying war-zone atmosphere
persisted. The Seoul Hilton's lobby was crowded with visiting U.S.
military officers wearing battledress utility "cammy" uniforms.
In Seoul, the 75
Marines assigned to U.S. Marine Forces, Korea, coordinate Marine Corps
training and contingency planning for the peninsula. In event of
hostilities, they will escort Marine units to assembly areas. The III
MEF's Marines often train there, working closely with Republic of Korea
Marines, mainly in the Pohang area, about 160 miles southeast of Seoul.
North Korea is
unpredictable--11,000 artillery pieces are positioned against Seoul and
500,000 soldiers deployed within 15 miles of the Demilitarized Zone. When
Jones toured the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom, several North Korean
officers peeked through the windows of the armistice building at
"conference row." Later, Jones told Marines at Iwakuni, Japan,
only 350 miles from the DMZ, "You are in the most dangerous place on
earth."
The relocation of
the Corps' air station at Futenma on Okinawa remains unresolved. Jones
flew over several potential relocation sites, and the Japanese government
may decide soon. Although liberty incidents, oil spills, and vehicle
accidents are still sensationalized by the local news media, relations
with the conservative-leaning new Okinawan government are better than
ever.
"The
Japanese and other countries where Marines train are watching the Vieques
controversy closely," said Marine Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr.,
deputy commander of U.S. Forces Japan. If the U.S. military loses use of
live-fire training ranges at Vieques, it could have grave readiness
implications and repercussions at the Corps' training sites around the
world.
The Marines and
their families in Japan enjoy a decent quality of life in modern
facilities paid for by the Japanese government. In FY 1999, the Japanese
funded $297 million in new construction, with one-third slated for a
runway-relocation project at Iwakuni Air Base.
Okinawa was a
nostalgic visit for Jones. His uncle fought on the island in 1945, Jones
passed through on his way to Vietnam in 1967, and he served there many
times in subsequent assignments. At the rugged Marine Corps Jungle Warfare
Training Center, Jones spoke to a rifle company clustered around a
clearing in the dense canopy. The 32nd Marine commandant was moved when
the commander gave him the unit's guidon. It was the same company Jones
had served with in Vietnam.
"This will
hang in my office," Jones said, cloaking his emotions as his remarks
summed up his outlook for the next four years. "Don't think things
can't happen here. Stay ready. Remember who you are and enjoy yourselves.
These are exciting times for the Corps, and they will get
better."
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