The following are the Advance Questions for General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., USMC, Nominee for the Position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The questions were answered by Dunford in advance of his July 9, 2015 confirmation hearing. Read More
A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) enters the well deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) on June 6, 2015. Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said the Marines can no longer rely on traditional amphibious operations in the Pacific and will instead have to consider alternate operations models and new platforms. US Navy photo.
Marines will have to continue to be adaptable to meet growing threats with limited resources by fundamentally rethinking how the Marine Corps organizes and operates, commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said on Thursday. Read More
The following is the May 5, 2015 statement from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on the nomination of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Read More
U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, confront avatars, or virtual humans, while clearing a room at the Office of Naval Research Infantry Immersion Trainer (IIT) located at the I Marine Expeditionary Force Battle Simulation Center at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 19, 2008. US Navy photo.
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Virginia – When Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford released his Commandant’s Planning Guidance in January, he shined a spotlight on live, virtual and constructive (LVC) training.
The Marine Corps should use simulators to the greatest extent possible, he wrote. But they need to cover all the right warfighting areas. And the service needs to ensure Marines get enough hours in the simulator. And the simulators need to align with training and readiness goals.
With a new focus on LVC training, the Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM) is in the midst of several efforts to ensure its LVC training capabilities are supporting the right skills and in the right quantities. Read More
BAE Systems’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1 entrant. BAE Systems photo.
This post has been updated to remove references to an engineering contract related to work on a high water speed increment of the ACV. The Marine Corps inadvertently posted an old notice on FedBizOpps that discussed a contract option that was never exercised. The service will pursue high water speed research but did not begin work under that particular contract option.
The Marine Corps released its request for proposals for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle program, which will replace the Vietnam War-era Amphibious Assault Vehicles. Read More
MV-22 Osprey assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 163 launches from USS Makin Island (LHD-8) on Aug. 24, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Marine Corps would purchase 10 new aircraft, improve the digital interoperability of existing aircraft and boost connectivity through additional communications systems and unmanned aerial vehicles if Congress provided additional funding. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), front, the Republic of Korea Navy Aegis-class destroyer ROKS Seoae-Yu-Seong-Ryong (DDG-993), middle, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG-85). US Navy Photo
The sea services cannot buy their way to successfully implementing the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, the service chiefs said on Friday. Instead, they will have to pay close attention to how they man, organize and partner with other militaries to ensure they achieve all the capabilities required by the strategy. Read More
Marines aboard an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) exit the well deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) on Aug. 24, 2014. These vehicles, some of them 40 years old, are still in the fleet today until the new ACVs can be procured. US Navy Photo
The competitors for the Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) increment 1.1 are focusing on the eventual increment 1.2 capabilities – with increased swim capability and more seats – making it more likely that the two will merge together, top service officials have said this week. Read More
USS George Washington (CVN-73) and its strike group in 2013. US Navy Photo
Navy leadership hopes to have a surge force of three Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and three Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG) by 2020 to respond to major contingencies, compared to today’s one CSG and one ARG – but those plans depend on Congress fully funding the Navy’s implementation of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP), Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. Read More
The mobile landing platform Lewis B. Puller (T-MLP-3/T-AFSB-1) successfully completed launch and float-off at the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) shipyard on Nov. 6, 2014. US Navy Photo
The Marines are looking to employ new types of ships to extend the reach of special crisis response units into Africa, senior service leaders have told USNI News. Read More
