{"id":1467882,"date":"2022-05-08T08:29:41","date_gmt":"2022-05-08T12:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1467882"},"modified":"2022-05-08T08:30:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-08T12:30:47","slug":"russian-armor-losses-lend-validity-to-u-s-marines-decision-to-dump-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russian-armor-losses-lend-validity-to-u-s-marines-decision-to-dump-tanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Armor Losses Lend Validity to U.S. Marines\u2019 Decision to Dump Tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frussian-armor-losses-lend-validity-to-u-s-marines-decision-to-dump-tanks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1467882&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"css-itqiyo\">\n<div class=\"css-tomq47\">\n<h2 class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-h6 css-1k6vyop\">If the Marine Corps should find itself in need of support from tanks, their plan has a familiar ring. Send in the Army.<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-ptqbdt\"><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-button css-1xe71i0\">by<\/span><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-button css-gonh1q\"><\/span><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-button css-gnnxwx\">May 6, 2022 5:39 PM<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"MuiBox-root css-1k6rbu\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Russian Armor Losses Validate Marines\u2019 Decision To Dump Their Tanks Says General\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=640 640w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=750 750w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=828 828w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=2018 2048w, https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/uploads\/2022\/05\/06\/GettyImages-1240024600.jpg?auto=webp?auto=webp&#038;optimize=high&#038;quality=70&#038;width=3840 3840w\" title=\"UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"MuiBox-root css-i9gxme\">\n<div class=\"MuiGrid-root MuiGrid-container MuiGrid-spacing-xs-2 css-i0amj6\">\n<div class=\"MuiGrid-root MuiGrid-item MuiGrid-grid-xs-12 MuiGrid-grid-md-8 css-7vczw4\">\n<div class=\"MuiBox-root css-10757gk\">\n<div class=\"MuiBox-root css-1ia6l13\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-crj2xj\">The three-star general overseeing the Marine Corps\u2019 effort to reinvent itself was blunt in his assessment of why the Corps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/32703\/marines-to-radically-remodel-force-cutting-tanks-howitzers-in-favor-of-drones-missiles\">divested itself of tanks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">\u201cI just don\u2019t see any need&#8221; for tanks in the Indo-Pacific region, Lt. General Karsten Heckl, the Marine Corps\u2019 Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, said Wednesday. \u201cAnd when you look at an operating environment like the Indo-Pacific, where do you see tanks playing out? Taiwan? OK. Where else?&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"image MuiBox-root css-1pxftiy\"><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-caption css-k6fpix\">Taiwan is probably the only place in the Pacific where tanks will play a role, says Marine Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl. (Photo by Ceng Shou Yi\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Heckl, the Marine Corps\u2019 Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, is the point man for Commandant Gen. David Berger\u2019s controversial Force Design 2030 plan. First developed in March, 2020, it calls for a realignment of the Corps away from the land force it had been used as during the past 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq back to its naval warfare roots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">You can read our full report on those changes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/marines-based-inside-chinas-striking-distance-key-to-deterrence-general-says\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">The idea is to be able to better counter China in the vast Pacific, by deploying small, nimble forces able to hop from remote island to remote island or operating in highly contested sensor-rich littorals without being easily spotted and targeted. Yet one of the biggest criticisms of Force Design 2030 has been the elimination of the Marine tank forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">But Heckle told a virtual panel held by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/events\/maritime-security-dialogue-force-design-2030-and-marine-corps-modernization-efforts\">Center for International and Strategic Studies<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/\">U.S. Naval Institute<\/a> that the current situation in Ukraine justifies Berger\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Hundreds of Russian tanks have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/russia-just-lots-its-most-advanced-operational-tank-in-ukraine\">obliterated or captured by Ukraine forces<\/a>. Many more simply ran out of gas because of poor Russian logistics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">\u201cYou know, the cathartic event for the Marine Corps was when we got rid of tanks,\u201d Heckl said. \u201cTanks are \u2013 as you saw with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, any armor is a massive consumer of fuel. We learned long ago in Iraq and Afghanistan that fuel trucks on the road immediately became the target. We got to find ways to lessen our dependence because it is now a weakness, right? It has become a significant vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"image MuiBox-root css-1pxftiy\"><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-caption css-k6fpix\">A man looks at a Russian T-72 tank destroyed during Russia&#8217;s invasion of Uktaine, Ivanivka village, Chernihiv area, Ukraine, April 20, 2022 (<em>Photo by Maxym Marusenko\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/em>)<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">So not having to rely on gas-guzzling, easy-to-find tanks is part of what makes a forward-deployed, light and agile, &#8216;stand-in&#8217; force concept work, said Heckl. Especially when it is designed to operate in small numbers, in austere areas, across vast swaths of the Pacific to frustrate Chinese operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Instead, the Marine Corps\u2019 plan for tanks relies heavily on the Army for support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">&#8220;We have sufficient evidence to conclude that this capability, despite its long and honorable history in the wars of the past, is operationally unsuitable for our highest-priority challenges in the future,&#8221; Berger wrote in his initial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hqmc.marines.mil\/Portals\/142\/Docs\/CMC38%20Force%20Design%202030%20Report%20Phase%20I%20and%20II.pdf?ver=2020-03-26-121328-460\">Force Design 2030 document<\/a>. &#8220;Heavy ground armor capability will continue to be provided by the U.S. Army.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"image MuiBox-root css-1pxftiy\"><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-caption css-k6fpix\">The Marine Corps plan for tanks? Send in the Army. (<em>Photo by PATRIK STOLLARZ\/AFP via Getty Images<\/em>)<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">The Marines\u2019 prior use of tanks, Berger noted, was part of capabilities \u201cdesigned with different assumptions regarding threat and environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Those capabilities &#8211; tanks among them \u2013 were something the Marines \u201cover-invested in,\u201d Berger wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">During his talk on Wednesday, Heckl noted that \u201ceven in our heyday our tank force was dwarfed by the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">And moving to the future, as the Marine Corps examines its role in the joint force, there are better options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Berger, said Heckl, \u201copenly acknowledges that within a joint force, how does the Marine Corps fit? And I wholeheartedly agree with him that tanks isn\u2019t part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">That\u2019s what the Army is for, he intimated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">\u201cI\u2019m not a grunt, right?,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when you talk to infantry officers, several have told me that you really want a tank in an urban fight. OK. Blows holes in walls, right? If we get into a scenario like that, again, within the joint force, when armor is needed it\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Besides, he said, the Marines developed their own vehicle that can make things go boom. It\u2019s the 8&#215;8 wheeled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/26229\/the-usmc-already-wants-to-up-gun-their-new-amphibious-combat-vehicle-with-a-30mm-cannon\">amphibious combat vehicle<\/a>, designed to replace the ill-fated Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV). The aging AAV\u2019s were banned from going into the water in the wake of a July 30, 2020 mishap that resulted in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/43534\/the-marines-amphibious-assault-vehicles-just-got-banned-from-going-in-the-water-indefinitely\">deaths of eight Marines and a Navy sailor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"image MuiBox-root css-1pxftiy\"><span class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-caption css-k6fpix\">The Marine Corps&#8217; Amphibious Combat Vehicle is more survivable than its predecessor, said Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl. (<em>U.S. Marine Corps photo<\/em>)<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">\u201cThe ACV is much more \u2013 very survivable,\u201d said Heckl. \u201cYou know, very mobile. We\u2019re looking into the possibilities of making something called a Mod 30, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/26229\/the-usmc-already-wants-to-up-gun-their-new-amphibious-combat-vehicle-with-a-30mm-cannon\">a 30-millimeter cannon<\/a> on it. I think that will blow a pretty good hole in walls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">That, combined with the long-range precision fires that \u201cwe can use to strike in an urban environment, could change the calculus a little bit,\u201d said Heckl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">But the debate over the Marine Corps\u2019 tank divestiture is not over. Whether the Army can provide the armor support the Marines may one day require remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Nor is the role of the tank on the battlefield writ large yet settled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">A thorough after-action examination of all the factors that went into Russia\u2019s tank troubles will help provide a clearer picture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Was it Russia\u2019s lack of combined arms coordination, poor logistics, aging countermeasures, and bad training and maintenance the main reason why hundreds of its tanks are out of action?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Was it the skill of Ukrainian defenders, taking advantage of narrow kill zones, drones, and thousands of anti-armor systems flowing into Ukraine, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/ukraine-worried-it-cant-train-enough-troops-on-javelins\">shoulder-fired Javelin<\/a>, that made the tank a bad place to be for Russians in Ukraine?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Some combination?<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">We will be exploring this and the Marines&#8217; decision to dump their heavy armor in the near future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\">Stay tuned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-htz1a0\"><em>Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If the Marine Corps should find itself in need of support from tanks, their plan has a familiar ring. Send in the Army. byMay 6, 2022 5:39 PMThe three-star general<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":1898745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1467882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_finder_url":"https:\/\/www.thedrive.com\/the-war-zone\/russian-armor-losses-validate-marines-decision-to-dump-their-tanks-says-general","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1467882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1467882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1467882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1467882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}