Category Archives: U.S. Marine Corps

Background on New Marine Amphibious Vehicle

Background on New Marine Amphibious Vehicle

From the Congressional Research Service June, 28 2013 report on development of the Marine Corps next-generation amphibious assault vehicle:

A Feb. 01, 2007 test of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in Alaska. US Marine Corps Photo

A Feb. 01, 2007 test of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in Alaska. US Marine Corps Photo

On January 6, 2011, after spending approximately $3 billion in developmental funding, the Marine Corps cancelled the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program due to poor reliability demonstrated during operational testing and excessive cost growth. Because the EFV was intended to replace the 40-year-old Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV), the Pentagon pledged to move quickly to develop a “more affordable and sustainable” vehicle to replace the EFV. The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is intended to replace the AAV, incorporating some EFV capabilities but in a more practical and cost-efficient manner. Read More →

Military Sealift Command Will Keep WestPac Until 2014

Military Sealift Command Will Keep WestPac Until 2014

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Westpac Express High Speed Vessel pulls away from the pier at Naha Military Port, Okinawa. US Navy Photo

Westpac Express High Speed Vessel pulls away from the pier at Naha Military Port, Okinawa. US Navy Photo

U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) is exercising a contract option on a high-speed aluminum catamaran used to transport U.S. Marines by six-months, MSC officials told USNI News on Monday.

WestPac Express, in use by MSC since 2001 years, has been retained until February of 2014 by MSC, according to a release by the Australian vessel owner, Austal. Read More →

Cartwright Under Investigation

Cartwright Under Investigation

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Retired Gen. James Cartwright. Department of Defense Photo

Retired Gen. James Cartwright. Department of Defense Photo

Retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright is a, ” target of a Justice Department investigation into a leak of information about a covert U.S.-Israeli cyberattack on Iran’s nuclear program,” according to a Friday report in The Washington Post.

Cartwright, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011, is said to have revealed information on Stuxnet, the computer virus designed to disrupt centrifuges used in enriching Iranian nuclear material and has been informed by the Justice Department he was under investigation, according to a Friday report in NBC News. Read More →

Philippines Exploring Allowing U.S. and Japan More Use of Bases

Philippines Exploring Allowing U.S. and Japan More Use of Bases

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USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at Subic Bay in 1993. US Navy Photo

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at Subic Bay in 1993. US Navy Photo

The Philippines plan to give greater access to U.S. and Japanese allies to military bases including the former U.S. Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippine defense officials said Thursday in a report in Reuters.

The report comes in tandem with reports, the military is preparing a proposal to expand leftover U.S. bases after the Pentagons removed its forces in 1992.

According to the report, Philippine naval leaders are preparing a $230 million plan to base development bases as hedges against increased Chinese expansion into the South China Sea. Read More →

Document: Pentagon's Aviation Plan

Document: Pentagon’s Aviation Plan

An F/A-18F Super Hornet flies from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). US Navy Photo.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet flies from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). US Navy Photo.

The following is the Pentagon’s aviation plan, dated May 2013.
From the report:

Summary of the Annual Plan and Certification

This plan was developed based on the FY14 President’s Budget submission and does not include the effects of sequestration / Budget Control Act funding decreases. The Department is in the process of a Strategic Choices and Management Review (SCMR) to resolve these impacts.

As such, changes to this plan are probable in next year’s report. Moreover, sequestration is already having an adverse effect on readiness across multiple mission areas, including aviation.

Changes in technology and organizational structure make categorizing aircraft into bins of like capability increasingly difficult.

However, this aviation force structure plan provides the diverse mix of aircraft needed to carry out the eleven missions identified above. The capabilities provided by aircraft identified in this plan reflect five principal investment objectives identified Read More →

Updated: History of U.S. Policy and Law on Gays in the Military

Updated: History of U.S. Policy and Law on Gays in the Military

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On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down provisions in the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The restrictions in the act prevented federal employees in same sex marriages from receiving federal benefits. The Pentagon and the rest of the government will now sort through the ruling and the changes to federal law.

“The Department of Defense welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision today on the Defense of Marriage Act,” Secratary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in a Wednesday statement.
“The department will immediately begin the process of implementing the Supreme Court’s decision in consultation with the Department of Justice and other executive branch agencies. The Department of Defense intends to make the same benefits available to all military spouses — regardless of sexual orientation — as soon as possible. That is now the law and it is the right thing to do.” Read More →

Southeast Asian Rivals Work Together in Disaster Relief Exercise

Southeast Asian Rivals Work Together in Disaster Relief Exercise

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People's Liberation Army Navy Rear Adm. Kan Li Kui drinks a sample of purified water at a disaster site in Biang, Brunei Darussalam June 19, as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise. US Marine Corps Photo.

People’s Liberation Army Navy Rear Adm. Kan Li Kui drinks a sample of purified water at a disaster site in Biang, Brunei Darussalam June 19, as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise. US Marine Corps Photo.

Last week Brunei hosted an important but little-noticed exercise in its portion of the island of Borneo. The multinational event sponsored by and held in conjunction with the second meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) and was the first of its kind. The group focused on boosting interoperability among the participants’ medical and disaster response capabilities. But as important was the mix of participants included countries better known for tense maritime stand-offs than working together. Read More →

Women Could Serve in Navy Riverine Units by October, SEALs by 2016

Women Could Serve in Navy Riverine Units by October, SEALs by 2016

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Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen in a 2009 exercise. US Navy Photo

Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen during a 2009 exercise. US Navy Photo

The Navy will issue a report to the Pentagon by July on the service’s plan to allow women to serve in Costal Riverine Units — one of the few remaining Navy specialties closed to women, according to a report a May 2 implementation report released Tuesday. If approved, female officers and enlisted could serve be assigned to the units as early as October.

The riverine unit integration is the first of five so-called “decision points” in response to the January removal of the ground combat exclusion rule that prevents women from serving in frontline combat units. Read More →

U.S. Military Ranks Highest in New Gallup Poll

U.S. Military Ranks Highest in New Gallup Poll

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The military bested small business and the police to top the list of U.S. institutions in which Americans have the most confidence, according to a June Gallup poll released on Thursday.

The military topped the list with 76 percent of responses indicating there was “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the institution. Small business came in second with 65 percent, followed by police with 57 percent. Read More →

1,150 U.S. Marines to Australia by 2014

1,150 U.S. Marines to Australia by 2014

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Marines with 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, sprint to their first station wearing full gear during a squad competition on May, 23 2013. US Marine Corps Photo

Marines with 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, sprint to their first station wearing full gear during a squad competition on May, 23 2013. US Marine Corps Photo

The Australian Government and the U.S. have agreed to allow a contingent of 1,150 Marines to train near Darwin, Australia in 2014, according to Aussie Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The Marines will be part of a six-month rotation of troops that will be based at Robertson Barracks near Darwin that also include a 130 Marine aviation detachment with four helicopters based at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, according to a Friday statement from Gillard’s office. Read More →

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