U.S. Marines with 1st Marine Logistics Group, return fire during a convoy training exercise in Camp Pendleton California. Oct 7, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
This post is part of a series looking back at the top naval stories from 2021. Read More
Lt. Gen. Eric Smith(left), Vice Admiral Daryl Caudle (center), Vice Admiral James Kilby (right)
This post has been updated to include the nomination of Lt. Gen. Eric Smith to serve as the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for combat development and integration has been tapped to serve as the second-highest-ranking officer in the service, the Pentagon announced on Thursday. Meanwhile, the current head of the Navy’s Atlantic submarine force and the current head of the service’s requirements office have been nominated to lead U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Read More
An Oshkosh-built Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires vehicle with a Naval Strike Missile attached during a November 2020 test at Point Mugu, Calif. US Navy Photo
A new photo of the Marine Corps’ shore-based anti-ship missile vehicle reveals how the service mounted a Raytheon Naval Strike Missile on a modified unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
Read More
A U.S. Marine with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, crawls onto the beach during reconnaissance scout swimmer training part of Exercise Bougainville I at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, Feb. 8, 2021.US Marine Corps Photo
The Marine Corps is a year into reshaping its force to become optimized for modern operations – in combat and in everyday competition – by 2030, and the service has already taken some major steps such as getting rid of all its tanks and refining its vision for how to buy the next reconnaissance vehicle Read More
U.S. Marines with 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, load CH-53E Super Stallions with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing during Castaway 21.1 on Ie Shima, Okinawa, Japan, March 16, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
After honing naval integration and then exercising in the Indo-Pacific with the joint force, the Marine Corps is ready to take its new island-hopping campaign concept to the next level by drilling with international allies and partners. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Brian W. Nickerson, a platoon commander with Battalion Landing Team 3/4, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), sets security with his Marines during a raid on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 1, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
The Marine Corps has released the first version of its Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations manual and is kicking off a two-year process of near-constant experimentation and analysis to help refine the document before it becomes formal doctrine. Read More
Maintainers from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) analyze diagnostics from the MQ-8C Fire Scout on the flight deck of the Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) on June 21, 2018. US Navy photo.
When the Navy moved from a conventionally powered fleet to a nuclear one, Adm. Hyman Rickover oversaw the transitions for decades, remaining in uniform until the age of 82 as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” to ensure the sea service adopted the new technology in a precise and controlled way. Read More
Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Samantha Stluka, left, and Aviation Electrician 2nd Class Wyatt Cutchen, both assigned to the “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, perform maintenance on a MQ-8B unmanned helicopter on the flight deck of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), May 14, 2020. US Navy photo.
The sea services see themselves moving toward a future where they are just as likely to perform a mission with an unmanned platform as a manned one, based on the specifics of the mission and what assets are available. A third of the Navy’s fleet and half of Marine Corps aviation could be unmanned under this hybrid vision the two services are pursuing, which they argue in a new Department of the Navy Unmanned Campaign Framework is necessary to stay ahead of adversary capabilities without breaking the bank. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Sean Goode, an infantry unit leader with 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, observes a training area at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan on Jan. 22, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
Ongoing testing and experimentation are proving the Marine Corps can be more lethal even while being lighter and more maneuverable, as the service evolves to support littoral operations under its Force Design 2030 plan, a top general said today. Read More
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) steams in the Gulf of Oman at night on Sept. 8, 2020. Sterett is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. US Navy photo.
As the Navy pursues a blueprint for its tactical data network to connect weapons and sensors across the battlefield, the service hopes the structure of its Project Overmatch initiative will help develop requirements for the new effort. Read More
