America’s Marines are set to become a smaller and nimbler force

THE OFFICIAL hymn of the United States Marine Corps, a jaunty tune written by Jacques Offenbach in 1867, proudly declares that “From the Halls of Montezuma/ To the shores of Tripoli/ We fight our country’s battles/ In the air, on land, and sea.” But despite their naval origins and ethos, America’s marines have spent most of the last two decades waging war in the deserts, mountains and cities of Iraq and Afghanistan. On March 26th General David Berger, the corps’ commandant, proposed a radical transformation of the force into America’s first line of defence in the Pacific.