A Striking New Vision for the Marines, and a Wakeup Call for the Other Services - War on the...

First of all, get with the program and capitalize "Marine."
Also, the authors seems to be excessively fawning over Gen Berger to the point of it being awkward. Sure he has some decent ideas, but many, especially the NCO's, would argue against a lot of those ideas. And since they're the ones with their boots in the mud, someone may want so listen to them and hear what they need to win a battle.

As I am not a Marine... any opinion I have is somewhat "suspect", and open to derision. That said, I have opinions, and I would like to CAUTIOUSLY share them.

For one, I am not a big fan of change; I like tradition, and tend to be suspicious of new ideas that are probably aimed more at "culture" than competency. I see "some" of that crap here... but also, a few daisies among the weeds. Berger's got one thing right-We're not the only game in town on the High Seas any longer, and we need to return to power projection afloat. I know and understand that the Marine Corps has a well-earned reputation as a land-combat force in it's own right... but it was originally conceived to support naval operations. There are missions that suit a larger/more ponderous force like the "regular" Army...missions that favor Special Operations...myriad missions WITHIN Special Operations that call for even more specialized, spec warfare... AND missions that require a conventional, highly-focused, more portable force; i.e. the Marine Corps. We may have become too comfortable with the notion that the Marine Corps is really just the Army's more "cut", more aggressive, more "motivated" brother... and not one of a couple of "big dogs" in the Navy's kennel.

What I don't like, is the subtle tone that Berger's reforms will "soften" the edges here and there. Yes, we've come a long way since Iwo Jima, and we need Marines who "fight" in Cyberspace... but let's be honest; there are fields that the (I know guys...please forgive me for saying it) the parent department, i.e., the Navy, might still be better organized to master. I don't think we need to replace Navy Crypto personnel with Marines...or even shoot for an even split. We support their amphibious operations, they support our operations afloat... there are times and missions those roles intersect, and always have.

Here's another worrying trend... the further the Leathernecks get from the Navy, the more "tempting" it is for the Navy to start emulating them... with poor results. GWOT forced the Blue Water Navy to start thinking beyond fighting from CIC. We had to re-imagine "old" techniques that had long been relegated to smaller, more elite branches. I was part of the "Force Protection" and "VBSS" process... and could write a book on what we got WRONG... by trying to reinvent a wheel forged by the Corps ages prior. We either increase the Navy's combat capabilities...or refocus sailors on sailing, and bring the Fleet Marine Force back to master those roles.

What I feel we cannot and must no do, is make any of this change without 100% buy-in from the Corps senior NCOs. There is subtle sauce involved in a service's culture and identity... and they are the keepers of the "recipe"; the brass will just foul it up if they put their spoons in TOO much.