Marines Want Out Of Iraq, Prefer Afghanistan?

The Army could learn a thing or 2 from the Marines. If our tours were 7 months I would have done 2, no questions asked. But 12-15 month deployments are too long for my tastes, so I'm out.

 

The question that that comment seems to beg is...why didn't you just join the Marines instead?

 

That reminds me of Shinseki. he was dead right on developing the Stryker, but he went to Army-wide berets because he was the only one at some ceremonry with the garrison cap and felt out of place.

 

I didn't know anything about the military when I joined. Knowing what I know now I would join the Air Force if I planed on serving long term.

 

Re: Marines Want Out Of Iraq, Prefer Afghanistan? Redux...

Sorry for the long past, but I doubt many have access to the "Marine Corps Times". Commentary after the article.

Intriguing. The top third of the article, I agree with. I think it's dead-on. But then, where the Army Generals get to whining... [whiny voice]"Oh, they don't have as good a gear. They rotate troops every seven month."[/whiny voice] Bullshit.

First off, the MEB isn't the largest MAGTF. A MEF can function for six months without outside support. And the way we've got things set up, we've got three MEFs. So as you expend your supplies, you leapfrog the next MEF in to replace them. It works very slick.

And bragging about your helicopters? Yeah the CH46 is crap. That's why we're getting the Osprey--which is almost tailor made to support the Afghan mission--and will literally fly circles around a damned CH47--OR a Blackhawk.

And as far as the whole "Anbar Awakening". All I know is that when the Marines got Anbar it was a mess. Now it is one of the safest places in Iraq. I guess somehow that could be because of some Army Colonel. Same goes for the whole "rotations are too short" thing. If the rotations are too short to successfully do counterinsurgency then how do you explain the Marines' success in Anbar?

Finally, when it gets down to it, the Marines were the first substantial numbers of boots on the ground for the Afghan war. And they did a fine job then. Now that I look at this thing, it makes a certain sense. But I think Iraq is too strategically important. And I think the Marines play a necessary role in Iraq. If we assumed primary responsibility in Afghanistan, we wouldn't be able to contribute in Iraq.

And that's my two cents.

 

The marines success in Anbar had more to do with diplomacy and politics than anything else - and much of that not conducted by the US, but instead the absolutely lack of it by Al Qaeda who killed significantly more Iraqis there than the US did.

Logistics and rotations had little to do with that.

 

So I'm reading another article on this and the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.

Another reason I can see why the Marines would like to shift to Afghanistan is the MRAP. The heavy, expensive, IED-resistant vehicles aren't in keeping with Marine Corps doctrine of being light, fast, maneuverable, and able to deploy quickly. And the things create a huge logistics tail. As alluded to, you need specialized shipping to get them anywhere. You need mechanics and trained maintenance people to keep them running. You need a whole new supply of parts that you have to stock, track, and ship.

So I wonder if part of the equation is maybe getting away from having to buy a bunch of MRAPs (and then being stuck with them)?

 

Yes, 12 months is a long ass time. I know somebody doing her second 12 months+ tour in the sandbox since 2003. Luckily I was in aviation/air traffic control. When I was there in 2003 the rumor was everyone would do 12 months, period.

Our leaders basically said "sorry, we run the aircraft. We do 6 months then fly the fuck home. We rotate our people when we want to rotate."

 

I dunno, a lot of people disagree with this thread...

 

Well, it looks like General Conway might be getting his way:

From the article, it sounds like they're just sending a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). MEUs are standing combined task forces. If memory serves, we have three on the East Coast and three on the West Coast. There's always one from both coasts deployed, at the ready if there is trouble somewhere. Doctrinally, one MEU is on R&R, one is doing "workups"; getting ready to deploy, and one is deployed.

Typically they'll do ports of call to "show the flag", they'll do some training with other nations for diplomatic purposes, and they are a convenient saber to rattle if need be. If there is a disaster, a MEU will likely be diverted to provide humanitarian relief, and if things go to shit someplace like Somalia or Liberia, a MEU will come and get the Americans. If they REALLY go to shit, like Kuwait in 1990, a MEU will come in and set up shop while the MEB (brigade) and MEF (division strength (the "F" is "Force")) get ready to come in and relieve them.

So it may just be a case of the MEU doing their hitch in Afghanistan instead of cruising around the Mediterranean. But it might also be the first step in moving the Jarheads into Afghanistan in strength.