Tag Archives: Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment

Lt. Gen. David Berger Nominated as Next Marine Corps Commandant

Lt. Gen. David Berger Nominated as Next Marine Corps Commandant

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller, left, speaks to Lt. Gen. David H. Berger before a change of command at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Aug. 8, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo

This post has been updated to include the official annoucement from the Marine Corps.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A key architect of the Marine’s future fight in an era of great power competition was tapped Tuesday to be the next commandant of the Marine Corps, according to a Congressional notification. Read More

Pacific Blitz Tests How Navy, Marines Could Fight the Next Island Campaign

Pacific Blitz Tests How Navy, Marines Could Fight the Next Island Campaign

Construction Electrician Constructionman George Feldman, assigned to Naval Construction Battalion 5 (NMCB-5), mans a .50-caliber machine gun while standing security watch on Marine Corps Camp Pendleton, Calif., in support of Exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 on March 12, 2019. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to add additional ships that participated in the exercise.

As amphibious exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 wraps up today, senior commanders already are reviewing after-action lessons and thinking ahead to future exercises that will help develop, train and prepare forces for fights on the move and close to shore. Read More

Marines' Next High-End Fight Could Call for Larger Formations, Tougher Amphibs

Marines’ Next High-End Fight Could Call for Larger Formations, Tougher Amphibs

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jose Nieves, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division tests Step In Visor and Low Profile Mandible during Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2018 (ANTX-18) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 21, 2018. US Marine Corps photo.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Marine Corps is preparing for a high-end distributed fight inside island chains in the Pacific, and the service is pushing the Navy to invest in additional weapons and systems for amphibious ships to support this kind of battle in a contested environment. Read More

Marines to Focus Investments on New Concepts, New Systems for the Future Fight

Marines to Focus Investments on New Concepts, New Systems for the Future Fight

A U.S. Marine with Company C, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, provides security for an 81mm mortar section while conducting an airfield seizure on San Clemente Island, California, as part of expeditionary advanced base operations training, Oct. 23, 2017, during Exercise Dawn Blitz. US Marine Corps photo.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Striking the right balance between funding today’s force and funding new capabilities for the future has always been a challenge, but Marine Corps leaders have firmly come down on the side of favoring modernization to win in a future fight. Read More

Marines Won't Need a Carrier for High-End Fight With MUX Unmanned System

Marines Won’t Need a Carrier for High-End Fight With MUX Unmanned System

DARPA demonstrator system of a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air system (UAS). DAPRA Image

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Marine Corps and Navy are preparing for a high-end fight that will require ships to be distributed across the ocean rather than clustered around an aircraft carrier, and the Marines’ future Group 5 unmanned aerial system will give them the airborne early warning capability to break free from the carrier and its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft. Read More

Marine Corps Wants Forces in U.S. Ready to Surge for Major War

Marine Corps Wants Forces in U.S. Ready to Surge for Major War

Marines with Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 takes off from Twentynine Palms, Calif. on June 1, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Marine Corps wants to focus its continental U.S.-based forces training for a high-end large-scale war, in case a conflict on the Korean Peninsula or elsewhere requires a massive surge force. Read More

Navy, Marines Eyeing Ship Capability Upgrade Plans that Focus on Weapons, C5I

Navy, Marines Eyeing Ship Capability Upgrade Plans that Focus on Weapons, C5I

The amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) steam in formation while participating in a photo exercise in the Arabian Gulf on Nov. 28, 2017. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy and Marine Corps are eyeing upgrade plans for their surface combatants and amphibious ships to help guide the development of weapons, sensors, networks and more that will support those ships in a future operating environment. Read More

Top Stories 2017: Marine Corps Operations

Top Stories 2017: Marine Corps Operations

USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.

The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories 2017: Navy AcquisitionInternational AcquisitionNavy OperationsMarine Corps and Coast Guard AcquisitionInternational Operations and New Administration

For the Marine Corps, 2017 represented a major step towards achieving the vision of future operations it laid out in last year’s Marine Corps Operating Concept. It deployed its F-35B Joint Strike Fighter around the globe, sent the first-in-class USS America (LHA-6) on its maiden deployment to the Pacific and the Middle East, and conducted a massive amount of experimentation to understand the technologies, skills and procedures the service would need to fight and win in the future.

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