US Marine Corps Getting Rid of All Their Tanks!

[dandyrandy]

Yes the US Marines are scrapping all there tanks. Goodbye to one of the infantry mans best friends forever. From the streets of Fallujah to the shores of Okinawa! You will be much missed....

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQEDojPZ7YI[/ame]

 

[Ron In MD]

With the onset of cruise missiles and drones, aren't tanks obsolete?
Except for policing is a standing army relevant anymore?

Not trying to be ignorant, but I am not a military man and don't know the in's and outs of warfare.

 

[S42N8]

With the onset of cruise missiles and drones, aren't tanks obsolete?
Except for policing is a standing army relevant anymore?

Not trying to be ignorant, but I am not a military man and don't know the in's and outs of warfare.

Same question was posed in the late '60s. No. If you have to hold terrain, you have to stand on it. True then, true today. (And from an AF veteran who watched my Service preen during the Kosovo war.)

 

[bigwheelzip]

The tanks aren't scrapped, they are Army hardware now.
The Marines Commandant has published a plan which radically re-invents the service into an anti-China force, designed for ocean area denial in the event they attempt expansion like Japan did in WWII.

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[Ziggy2525]

With the onset of cruise missiles and drones, aren't tanks obsolete?
Except for policing is a standing army relevant anymore?

Not trying to be ignorant, but I am not a military man and don't know the in's and outs of warfare.

I think the Air Force has been trying to make a similar argument since 1947, but when push came to shove, it's taken boots on the ground to do the shoving.

 

[Ziggy2525]

The tanks aren't scrapped, they are Army hardware now.
The Marines Commandant has published a plan which radically re-invents the service into an anti-China force, designed for ocean area denial in the event they attempt expansion like Japan did in WWII.

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From some of your previous posts, you seem to have a good handle on defense policy. What do you think about the re-invention?

The Marines are an awesome arrow in our foreign policy quiver, but the reinvention thing seems a little odd.

 

[bigwheelzip]

What do you think about the re-invention?

At first, I posted a thread here and was incredulous at the concept of small specialized Marine units holding islands against the new abilities of China to force-project. Since then, I've read about new weapons being developed just for that new Marine purpose, and the other services are also being re-tasked and equipped to focus on an emerging near-peer China.
I've come to believe the Commandant is a very smart warrior, thinking ahead, but I'd hate to be with the small unit Marines bastioned against China on a far away island.
In many catagories, we may have a military hardware quality edge over China, but their stuff isn't bad, and they are making a lot of it.
China's expanding military, in conjunction with their growing economic influence through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, will challenge us, but the Marines seem willing to go way out on a limb trying to limit them. God bless them.




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[Skeptic 9c]

...What do you think about the re-invention?

The Marines are an awesome arrow in our foreign policy quiver, but the reinvention thing seems a little odd.

It is a return to basic function. The USMC is not the US Army. It is many things, including a rapid deployment force. The change in policy away from heavy armor / armored infantry has been going on for several years.

I just hope the "Political Generals" understand the functions. Due to years of TV shows and Public Relations propaganda, too many people think narrowly intended forces (The Navy SEALS too often) can do missions NOT in their capability. Cross reference, the Grenada invasion of 1983.

I also note the difficulty in transporting M-1A3 tanks across beaches.

Should the USMC be conducting operations in mountains in a desert hundreds of kilometers from the ocean?

Geoff
Who is a critic of throwing soldiers lives away.

 

[vonn]

It will always come down to holding ground and grunts will bear the burden of that job. If we and the world expand today's limited wars then the weapons will escalate until there are no winners.

 

[swsig]

...
China's expanding military, in conjunction with their growing economic influence through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, will challenge us, but the Marines seem willing to go way out on a limb trying to limit them. God bless them....

China's growing economic influence will come to a screaming halt if they are foolish enough to attack their Number One Customer, us.

 

[bigwheelzip]

China's growing economic influence will come to a screaming halt if they are foolish enough to attack their Number One Customer, us.

Nah, here they just buy what they want.
Russia proved with Georgia, Crimea, and Donbass that nobody will stop imperial nibbling. So after Tibet, China will probably munch down Taiwan, and then look south for something tasty and resource rich. They've already built new islands there, and stuck military bases on them.


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[vt_shooter]

If we go to war with China they won't be using kinetic weapons, they'll be using viruses. The U.S. needs to get back into the bio-warfare capability arena or we might find ourselves wiped-out without a shot ever being fired.

 

[smoothshooter]

The tanks aren't scrapped, they are Army hardware now.
The Marines Commandant has published a plan which radically re-invents the service into an anti-China force, designed for ocean area denial in the event they attempt expansion like Japan did in WWII.

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This is a strategy that I believe will be cancelled before it reaches fruition.

 

[Golphin]

I would not mind having a tank. What size bullet and what is the loading data on the ammo?

 

[Golphin]

They did not hold up so well in the desert during the first Desert Storm and that was 30 years ago.

 

[Oracle]

The art of warfare is perpetually evolving. In WW II massive sized ordnance was lobbed in massive quantities onto islands as naval gunfire support onshore bombardment from ships prior to the Marines setting boots on shore.

The battleships are gone and I would be surprised if the current naval ships mounts are designed to be used for onshore bombardment.

I retired from the service 30 years ago. I would love to see how the current armament has changed over the past 30 years.

 

[bigwheelzip]

This is a strategy that I believe will be cancelled before it reaches fruition.

The Marines are moving surprisingly fast and are well on the way toward the envisioned reshaping.

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[bigwheelzip]

I would not mind having a tank. What size bullet and what is the loading data on the ammo?

I hear it's hard to get primers.

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[Rustyt1953]

My money's on a 20 year old in a bunker with a comfy chair, a headset, a flat screen and a joystick.

Welcome to the future.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Sounds like a good vehicle for Houston traffic.