Amphibious landings have become less crucial than they were a few generations ago, when Marines stormed beaches from Iwo Jima, Japan, to Inchon, South Korea. There is no longer a pressing need, he and others would point out, for essentially "a second land army."
Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos responded by asserting that Marines could have a role as a light, fast and self-sustaining force that would take and hold an area while a larger force was being assembled.
With all the armed services now fighting to maintain a financial foothold in anticipation of a decade-long drive to trim the Pentagon budget by $450 billion, the Marine Corps seems especially under the gun to stay relevant, as Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
“Looking ahead," Gates said last year, "I do think it is proper to ask whether large-scale amphibious assault landings along the lines of Inchon are feasible....”
(Stars and Stripes)
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