From Afghanistan, to Bold Alligator 2012, to the Future: The USMC Re-shapes Its Capabilities

02/08/2012
02/08/12 In a wide-ranging interview with Second Line of Defense’s Robbin Laird, the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Air Wing (MAW) provided an overview of how USMC aviation operates now and is evolving in the future. The bottom line for the role of USMC Aviation was underscored throughout the interview…

Off Probation and Into the USMC Inventory: F-35Bs at Eglin

01/22/2012
01/21/2012: F-35B Turns a Page BF-6, BF-7 and BF-8 are now at Eglin AFB and are USMC owned aircraft. As Col. Tomassetti, Deputy 33rd Wing Commander has underscored: Now we can stop talking about what we can do and start showing what we can do.  We move out of the…

Planning for Bold Alligator 2012

01/19/2012
01/19/2011 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The Second Line of Defense team spent the week of January 8th talking with USN and USMC planners and operators involved in Bold Alligator 2012.  Visits to USMC Forces Command and to 2nd US Fleet Forces in Norfolk were combined with a visit…

2012: Swans Take Flight

01/15/2012
01/08/2012 by Robbin Laird As the country prepares for the Presidential and Congressional elections, the world will move on oblivious to the logic of the debate inside the Beltway and the country.  The national debt has become a more important focus than national security.  In fact, for many the two have…

Bold Alligator 2012: The USN-USMC Team Shapes the Future (Updated)

01/13/2012
01/13/2012 by Robbin Laird The USN-USMC team is building forces for the future : as the largest amphibious exercise since the 1990s will take place starting this month in Norfolk, Va, it will include not only US forces but French, Dutch and British forces as well. The USN-USMC team is…

Augmenting the Seabase: 21st Century Efficiencies

12/09/2011
12/09/2011 by Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird Enhanced Efficiencies in Use of Ship Deck Space: The USN-USMC Team Shows the Way As assets are diminished for U.S. defense forces, it is important to enhance the combat value of the assets which remain. Important  modernization and upgrades are the essential points. …

Pacific Strategy XIII: Re-Working South Korean Defense

10/27/2011
10/27/2011 - In our discussions at USMC Yuma Air Station with MAWTS, one issue analyzed was the impact of the first 4-6 F-35Bs on the first operations of the Amphibious Ready Group.  This has naturally led us to look at the same sort of question for the CVN and for…

Pacific Strategy XIV: Battle of the Bulge-in a Pacific Campaign

10/27/2011
10/27/2011 - by Ed Timperlake Ever since the evacuation of the Chinese Nationalist Forces to Taiwan after their defeat on the mainland by Mao’s Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has quested for a complete victory by establishing sovereignty over that island fortress. (Credit Image: Bigstock)…