As the drumbeat of force restructuring beats on in the Marine Corps, more units are folding up their colors. Back in 2011, the Marine Corps laid out a plan for deactivating and realigning units to bring the Corps down from 202,000 to a “middleweight” force of 182,000, and much of that restructuring is going on right now. Out at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Marine Attack Squadron 513 became the first Av-8B Harrier Squadron to deactivate on July 12. “The Flying Nightmares” embarked on their last deployment last December, joining with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for a float aboard…
Browsing: Force Structure Review
Throughout the Corps, anxiety is high as Marines and their families wait to learn how the commandant intends to execute massive force cuts ordered in January by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. And their uneasiness certainly is justified. The reality is that over the next five years, the service will purge some 20,000 from the active-duty force — about as many as it added during the latter part of the last decade to sustain operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. This week’s cover story, which was co-reported by Marines Corps Times’ senior staff writers Gina Cavallaro and Dan Lamothe, examines how the…
If you browsed Marine Corps Times’ website today, odds are good that you saw my story about the Corps launching two new Marine expeditionary brigade headquarters capable of leading joint task forces in times of crises. Most of the information comes from an interview last month with Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration. As head of the Marine Corps Force Structure Review, he’s one of the few Marines around right now in position to describe some of the heavily anticipated changes expected as the Corps resets for life in the 21st century. Flynn said the…
