expeditionary advance base operations Archives

Navy Raises Battle Force Goal to 381 Ships in Classified Report to Congress

19 July 2023

Guided-missile destroyer Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. (DDG-124) in dry dock at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in June 2023. BIW Photo

The Navy is now more than 80 ships short of the latest estimate of what the sea service thinks it needs to fulfill the Biden administration’s national security strategy.

The Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement, a congressionally-mandated report, requires 381 ships, up from 373 in the 2022 report, the first year it was released. As of Monday, the Navy’s battle...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/18/navy-raises-battle-force-goal-to-381-ships-in-classified-report-to-congress

VIDEO: CMC Gen. David Berger Retires, Gen. Eric Smith Takes Over Marine Corps

11 July 2023

Gen. David H. Berger speaks during his relinquishment of command ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., July 10, 2023. DoD Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The leader of one of the most controversial eras of the Marine Corps retired on Monday as he relinquished command of the service to the first acting commandant in more than a century.

Gen. David Berger retired after 42 years in the Marine Corps and commandant of the Marine Corps Monday at the Marine Corps Barracks just steps from the house he...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/10/video-cmc-gen-david-berger-retires-gen-eric-smith-takes-over-marine-corps

Marine Corps Personnel Change Was Key to New Force Design, Says CMC Berger

7 July 2023

Marines and recruits on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., practice close-order drill on July 05, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

WASHINGTON, DC – When Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger laid out his vision for the Marine Corps, it included a fundamental manpower shift.

Instead of the service’s generations-old train-and-replace model that relied on young Marines who signed on for a single four-year enlistment, the commandant of the Marine Corps shifted its priorities to emphasize...

Report to Congress on Navy Medium Landing Ship

14 April 2023

The following is the April 13, 2023, Congressional Research Service report Navy Medium Landing Ship (LSM) (Previously Light Amphibious Warship [LAW]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, previously called the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program, envisions procuring a class of 18 to 35 new amphibious ships to support the Marine Corps, particularly in implementing a new Marine Corps operational concept called Expeditionary...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/14/report-to-congress-on-navy-medium-landing-ship

CMC Berger to Senate: ‘There’s No Plan’ to Meet Amphib Warship Requirements

28 March 2023

Amphibious warship Richard M. McCool, Jr., (LPD-29) on Aug. 4, 2022. USNI News Photo

The Marine Corps’ top officer told a Senate panel that he put a $1.75 billion warship on the top of his unfunded priorities list to show there’s no path to expand the U.S. amphibious ship inventory.

Speaking before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee on Tuesday, Commandant Gen. David Berger said he saw a net reduction in the amphibious ship force because of the retirement of three older landing ship...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/28/cmc-berger-to-senate-theres-no-plan-to-meet-amphib-warship-requirements

Pilot Course Aims to Build Marines’ Skills as Communicators for the Future Fight

1 March 2023

Marines with 9th Communication Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, trouble shoot a network connection during a certification exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 27, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

SAN DIEGO – Expeditionary communicators will be critical to the command and control of small Marine Corps units dispersed across far-flung islands in contested terrain, service officials say.

Those Marines will need to travel light, be nimble and have the...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/28/pilot-course-aims-to-build-marines-skills-as-communicators-for-the-future-fight

New Marine Littoral Regiment Key to Expanded Pacific Security Cooperation, U.S., Japanese Leaders Say

12 January 2023

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting co-hosted with Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosting Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023. DoD Photo

The 12th Marine Regiment will become the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment as the United States upgrades its forward-deployed forces in Japan, as part of an expansion of U.S. and...

https://news.usni.org/2023/01/12/new-marine-littoral-regiment-key-to-expanded-pacific-security-cooperation-u-s-japanese-leaders-say

Marine Commandant Will Have More Say in Crafting Navy’s Amphibious Force as Part of New Defense Bill

8 December 2022

Marines attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) wave to spectators as they arrive in Morehead City, N.C., aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD-24) on Oct. 10, 2022. US Navy Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The commandant of the Marine Corps will have a direct say in both the requirements for the Navy’s amphibious ships and the force structure, according to provisions in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
One provision in the...

https://news.usni.org/2022/12/07/marine-commandant-will-have-more-say-in-crafting-navys-amphibious-force-as-part-of-new-defense-bill

Marine Corps, Navy Remain Split Over Design, Number of Future Light Amphibious Warship, Divide Risks Stalling Program

14 September 2022

Sea Transport Solutions Image

The Marine Corps and Navy remain at an impasse over the future of the Light Amphibious Warship, as skepticism about the program’s viability mounts due to the internal division, sources familiar with the program have told USNI News.

While the Marines remain committed to their plan for nearly three-dozen beachable ships that can ferry units between islands and shorelines in the Pacific, the Navy wants fewer. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday’s 2022 navigation...

https://news.usni.org/2022/09/14/marine-corps-navy-remain-split-over-design-number-of-future-light-amphibious-warship-divide-risks-stalling-program

Report to Congress on Marine Littoral Regiments

25 August 2022

The following is the Aug. 25, 2022 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, The U.S. Marine Corps Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR).

From the report

On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) announced a major force design initiative planned to occur over the next 10 years referred to as “Force Design 2030.” As part of this initiative, the Marine Corps aims to redesign its force to place a stronger emphasis on naval expeditionary warfare and to better align itself with the National...

https://news.usni.org/2022/08/25/report-to-congress-on-marine-littoral-regiments

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