GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Gates Accepts Marines' Future Plan

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Aviation Week

28February2011 9:00amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The Marine Corps Force Structure Review Group reported to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday of last week, and Gates endorsed its conclusions, according to Corps assistant commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford.

The review supports the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the need for a new amphibious vehicle, Dunford said, and a request for information on the latter will be issued this week.

The questions raised last summer by deputy Navy Secretary Robert Work and by Gates himself about the Marines' future "created not a little bit of angst," in the Corps, Dunford said.

"Paranoia is one of our core competencies," he added, "but rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated."

The FSRG aims at restructuring the Marines as a high-readiness force aimed at  irregular and hybrid warfare. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Looking Beyond the EFV

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: US Naval Institute

13February2011 1:13pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The likely cancellation of the troubled multibillion-dollar Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program provides an opportunity for the Marine Corps to rethink the strategic purpose of maintaining amphibious assured-access capabilities and its future role in U.S. defense strategy.

The EFV has become a proxy for issues much more significant than a single defense program. The vehicle itself has been conflated with the capability to conduct forcible entry operations onto enemy-controlled shores, and that capability in turn has been conflated with the whole future of the Marine Corps. As one analyst asserts, “Within the Marine Corps, senior leaders understand that the fate of their entire service hinges on the outcome of EFV deliberations. If they don’t field a successor to their obsolete Cold War amphibious vehicles soon, they will have to begin abandoning the mission that has long been at the core of their identity.” (read full report)

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: U.S. Marines practice jungle survival with Colombian forces

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: US Marines

11February2011 9:47amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: COVENAS, Colombia  — The Ground Combat Element (GCE) of a Marine Corps Security Cooperation Task Force (SCTF) experienced first-hand, the Colombian marines' style of jungle survival during a survival training course conducted aboard the Marine Infantry Training Base in Covenas, Feb. 2.
The SCTF is currently deployed in support of Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2011, which is designed to strengthen cooperative partnerships among partner nations to better enable them to join efforts to enhance regional maritime security.

During their time in Colombia, the SCTF conducted several subject matter expert exchanges with the Colombian marines which included combat marksmanship, security tactics, motor transportation, medical treatment and other vital areas to improve techniques, share knowledge and develop professional relationships with the Colombian forces.

Although both the U.S. and Colombian marines share common interests and are similar in many ways, the difference in geography of the two countries means the forces have different strengths and a variety of common capabilities.

Colombian marines spend a lot of their time in the jungle, and U.S. Marines spend much of their time in urban or desert terrain. A-SPS 11 gave U.S. Marines the opportunity to learn from their Colombian counterparts and strengthen their own capabilities.

"The course taught us survival techniques that everyone should know, especially if you're in the military or an outdoorsman," said Lance Cpl. Zach T. Bubier. (read full report)

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's advertisers or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.