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Old 05-14-2020, 02:07 AM   #227
CaptainCrunch
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The government expects the Chinese to seize the Spratley's and try to close off the South China sea, which goes along with the Chinese expanding their navy to be power projecting instead of simply a coastal defense force. Its why the Chinese have invested heavily in naval aviation, submarine modernization, longer range advanced aircraft and amphibious assault vessels.

The marines are stripping away a lot of their direct fire support and by removing helicopters and heavy lift aircraft their reducing the mobility of the marines and not increasing them. As well by removing tanks they remove direct fire support and the ability to break lines quickly.

Its a move that makes little sense, they're making the Marines into leg infantry units, The US army has 5 light infantry divisions including the Ranger battalion.

Light infantry is great for scouting, but its short on anti-armor weapons and they aren't designed as an assault force, its likely that a light infantry assault gets slaughtered by a dug in enemy enforced by heavy armor, which is the Chinese doctrine. They're designed to scout and hold ground and defend.

Replacing tanks and mobile guns with drones doesn't make much sense for me. Removing a lot of their amphibious transports makes less sense to me. The Marines are self contained hostile assualt units. They push onto a beach or into enemy territory and establish a beach head. They use a combined armed approach that is all marine, fighters, tanks APCs artillary, etc. That way they're not dealing with a confusion chain of command.

This move makes little sense to me.
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