Marine commandant stands by Corps overhaul as best way to meet China challenge

A U.S .155mm Howitzer fires a round during annual combat drills between the Philippine Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps in Capas, Tarlac province, northern Philippines, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. Truck-mounted launchers blasted off rockets Thursday and U.S. stealth fighter …The makeover has been wrenching, but the nation’s top Marine insists there is no turning back, not if the nation wants to prepare for its most dangerous adversary.

But Gen. Eric M. Smith, the current commandant, said “Force Design,” as it is known today, was an indispensable response to put the Marine Corps in the best position to take on Beijing. A Marine Corps that for decades was focused on traditional ground combat in Europe and the global war against non-state terror groups decided it was not in the best shape to confront a very different challenge posed by Beijing’s rise as an economic and military superpower.

“I can kill a tank at 40 kilometers with a drone. Why would I carry a tank of 72 tons that has a maximum range of 4 kilometers?” he said. “It can be killed with a top-down attack weapon at 10 times the range.” A rival with the resources and firepower of China requires all branches of the U.S. military to carry out their assigned mission.

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