President & CEO
MAJGEN LESLIE M. PALM, USMC(RET)
www.mca-marines.org/gazette • 1-800-336-0291
Publisher
COL WALT G. FORD, USMC(RET) JULY 2009
Editor
COL JOHN A. KEENAN, USMC(RET)
j.keenan@mca-marines.org Ext. 363
Senior Editor
LTCOL KERRY A. KNOWLES, USMC(RET)
k.knowles@mca-marines.org Ext. 309
Layout/Editorial Production Coordinator
CHARLENE K. MONROE
c.monroe@mca-marines.org Ext. 339
Assistant Editor
NIKI KRAUSS
n.krauss@mca-marines.org Ext. 305
Administrative Assistant
LAWRALYNN DIEHL
l.diehl@mca-marines.org Ext. 344
Web Content Editor
MARGOT CORNELIUS
m.cornelius@mca-marines.org Ext. 306
Advertising Director
G. SCOTT DINKEL
s.dinkel@mca-marines.org 718-715-1361
Advertising Representative
RICHARD GUILLOPO
r.guillopo@mca-marines.org 718-576-1286
Editorial Board
COL JOHN A. KEENAN, USMC(RET)
Chairman
COL JAMES A. LASSWELL, USMC(RET)
COL THOMAS KEATING
Head, Logistics Vision and Strategy Center, HQMC
COL ROBERT K. DOBSON, JR., USMC(RET)
LTCOL HARRY P. WARD, USMC(RET)
LTCOL MORGAN G. MANN, USMCR
Commanding Officer, 1stBn, 25th Marines
LTCOL WAYNE A. SINCLAIR
Student, National War College
LTCOL MATTHEW P. MCLAUGHLIN
Division of Public Affairs
LTCOL WILLIAM M. REDMAN
Head, Sr. Leader Management Branch, MMSL
LTCOL CARL E. COOPER
G–3 (Future Operations), MNF-W, Iraq
MAJ KEITH KOPETS
Deputy Director, CMC Staff Group
MAJ BRIAN E. RUSSELL
Executive Officer, 5th Bn, 10th Marines
MAJ GARY W. THOMASON
MAG– 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
CAPT SCOTT CUOMO
CO, Co F, 2d Bn, 2d Marines
John Keenan
1STSGT DENNIS J. COLLINS
MCB Quantico
MSGT BRIAN CRILEY
3d Bn, 9th Mar, 2d Marine Regiment
Marine Corps Association Honorary President, Gen James T. Conway; Chairman of the Board, MajGen Harry W. Jenkins, USMC(Ret); General Counsel, BGen Joseph Composto, USMC(Ret); Board of Governors, MajGen Harry W. Jenkins, USMC(Ret); LtGen Ron Christmas, USMC(Ret); LtGen Earl B. Hailston, USMC(Ret); MajGen Leslie M. Palm, USMC(Ret); MajGen Andrew B. Davis, USMC(Ret); BGen James Kessler, USMC; BGen Thomas V. Draude,
USMC(Ret); MajGen Eugene G. Payne, Jr., USMCR; Col Catherine D. Chase; Col William R. Costantini; LtCol Greg Reeder; Maj Gilbert D. Juarez; Maj Matthew A. McGarvey, USMC(Ret); SgtMaj Carlton Kent; SgtMaj Kim
Eugene Davis; MGySgt Steve Williams; SgtMaj Richard Arndt, USMC(Ret); SgtMaj Frank J. Knox, USMC(Ret); Mr. Carlton Crenshaw; Mr. Michael Hegarty; Mr. James A. Mosel; Mr. Skip Sack; Mr. Douglas D. Tennis, Jr.
Editorial: The Review of the Corps and Its Mission
By public law, every 4 years the Department of Defense is required to conduct
an analysis based on four essential issues: ( 1) what major challenges will the United
States face in the next 20 years, ( 2) what is the strategy to meet those challenges, (3)
what are the force structures and programs consistent with the threat and the strategy, and ( 4) what is the estimate of the level of resources necessary to implement the
strategy? This review is called the Quadrennial Defense Review or QDR. In the past
it has often labored mightily and brought forth a mouse. This year, based on the Secretary of Defense’s guidance, the QDR will labor mightily and bring forth a lion that
could devour an important Marine Corps mission.
In a 17 April speech to the Naval War College in Newport, RI, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, “We have to take a hard look at where it would be necessary or sensible to launch another amphibious action again. In the 21st century
how much amphibious capability do we need?” In a larger context, Secretary Gates
is asking the QDR to examine whether the Armed Forces needs the capability to
conduct joint forcible entry operations in the future. If the answer is that we can accept the risk of giving up that capability, then the implications could be staggering.
Right off the bat the expeditionary fighting vehicle becomes an expensive luxury. In
addition, we have based the requirement for a 38-ship amphibious force on providing the Marines with the capability to force their way ashore from the sea and sustain themselves for at least 30 days. If the QDR assesses that the chance of a major
amphibious assault is negligible and the risk of losing that capability is acceptable,
then the logical questions that follow are how many amphibious ships and landing
craft do we need, and what should their capabilities be?
A robust amphibious force has the inherent ability to operate across the spectrum of warfare. That force can conduct cooperative engagement, counterinsurgency operations, and humanitarian, peacekeeping, and other military operations,
such as noncombatant emergency evacuations and foreign internal defense. However, there is grave risk if that force cannot aggregate and forcibly enter a hostile location with enough combat power to prevail. Clearly the end of the warfare
spectrum in the form of hybrid warfare is the most likely of the scenarios that the
QDR will consider. Those scenarios are grave but not as dangerous as other scenarios at the higher end of the spectrum of warfare that can only be resolved by forcible
entry and the seizure of territory to set the conditions for success. The assessments
and recommendations that the QDR will make will have significant consequences
for the Marine Corps as well as the Navy.
No one on the QDR has a crystal ball, but sometimes a look to the past can provide a window into the future. In 1949, when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staffs, General of the Army Omar Bradley proclaimed before a congressional
committee, “Large-scale amphibious operations will never again occur.” If the QDR
does not get the threat analysis, strategy, capability, force structure assessment, and
resource allocation recommendations correct, then GEN Bradley will have proven
to be way ahead of his time. The reason they will never occur again is not because
they are not required for success, but because we have analyzed away the risk and
given up the capability.
MCA President and CEO, MajGen Leslie M. Palm, USMC(Ret); Chief Operations Officer, John T. “Tom” Esslinger; Editor, Leatherneck magazine, Col Walter G. Ford, USMC(Ret); Marketing & Communications Director, LeeAnn
Mitchell; Member Services, Lisa Pappas; Chief Financial Officer, Charlene French.
