thedrifter
10-22-08, 05:29 AM
Cherry Point officers get briefing on vision for Marine Corps
October 21, 2008 - 8:05PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
CHERRY POINT -- Marine Corps officers at Cherry Point received a briefing Tuesday on Commandant James Conway's vision for the future.
They were told that the Marines need to be prepared for a wider range of operations.
About 120 officers based at Cherry Point attended the briefing by Pentagon and Quantico staff.
Col. Steven Zotti, head of strategic vision at Marine Corps Headquarters in Quantico, Va., said Gen. Conway, the country's 34th Marine commandant, wants to "let Marines know the direction we are going."
Zotti said, "The Marine Corps has to be more receptive to a wider range of operations than in the past and be more skilled," particularly in areas such as knowing more languages.
As Marine forces move out of Iraq by 2011 to 2012, Zotti said, they will be ramping up in Afghanistan and spreading out to ventures with smaller Marine contingents. They will be assisting other countries' troops, such as those in Africa and South America where more than 1,000 different languages are spoken.
By 2025, there will be 8.3 billion people in the world, with the most growth probably in Asia and Africa and 75 percent of them in urban areas, Zotti said. Competition for oil and water is expected to be fierce with more than double the present consumption in developing nations.
Lt. Col. Rick Lyman of the Pentagon said the Marine Corps' effort to meet the challenges will use the expanded capability of 27,000 more Marines to "try to get a step ahead of the conflict before it starts." The Marine Corps is expanding to a 202,000 Marines by 2015.
Effectively using the new Marines involves getting back to tight, integrated operations with the Navy that includes a day-to-day working relationship, Lyman said.
Col. Frank Bottorff, commander of Cherry Point, and Col. Bob Wallace, executive officer of the 2nd Marine Air Wing, said many of the new Marines destined for Cherry Point have already arrived.
They said the two Navy squadrons of FA/18 Super Hornets scheduled to arrive in 2010 and 2011 are still on track.
But the Corps does not plan to deviate from the abiding principles that make it unique, Zotti said.
Plans through the next two decades continue to insure that every Marine is a rifleman, "first and foremost a disciplined warrior"; that the Corps is an expeditionary naval force, "lean, versatile, flexible, and ready"; that it is a combined arms organization with ground, air, and sea components; that it is "a force in readiness" with agility; and that Marines take care of their own.
More specific information on the Marine Corps vision and strategy is available at www.mccdc.usmc.mil.
Ellie
October 21, 2008 - 8:05PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
CHERRY POINT -- Marine Corps officers at Cherry Point received a briefing Tuesday on Commandant James Conway's vision for the future.
They were told that the Marines need to be prepared for a wider range of operations.
About 120 officers based at Cherry Point attended the briefing by Pentagon and Quantico staff.
Col. Steven Zotti, head of strategic vision at Marine Corps Headquarters in Quantico, Va., said Gen. Conway, the country's 34th Marine commandant, wants to "let Marines know the direction we are going."
Zotti said, "The Marine Corps has to be more receptive to a wider range of operations than in the past and be more skilled," particularly in areas such as knowing more languages.
As Marine forces move out of Iraq by 2011 to 2012, Zotti said, they will be ramping up in Afghanistan and spreading out to ventures with smaller Marine contingents. They will be assisting other countries' troops, such as those in Africa and South America where more than 1,000 different languages are spoken.
By 2025, there will be 8.3 billion people in the world, with the most growth probably in Asia and Africa and 75 percent of them in urban areas, Zotti said. Competition for oil and water is expected to be fierce with more than double the present consumption in developing nations.
Lt. Col. Rick Lyman of the Pentagon said the Marine Corps' effort to meet the challenges will use the expanded capability of 27,000 more Marines to "try to get a step ahead of the conflict before it starts." The Marine Corps is expanding to a 202,000 Marines by 2015.
Effectively using the new Marines involves getting back to tight, integrated operations with the Navy that includes a day-to-day working relationship, Lyman said.
Col. Frank Bottorff, commander of Cherry Point, and Col. Bob Wallace, executive officer of the 2nd Marine Air Wing, said many of the new Marines destined for Cherry Point have already arrived.
They said the two Navy squadrons of FA/18 Super Hornets scheduled to arrive in 2010 and 2011 are still on track.
But the Corps does not plan to deviate from the abiding principles that make it unique, Zotti said.
Plans through the next two decades continue to insure that every Marine is a rifleman, "first and foremost a disciplined warrior"; that the Corps is an expeditionary naval force, "lean, versatile, flexible, and ready"; that it is a combined arms organization with ground, air, and sea components; that it is "a force in readiness" with agility; and that Marines take care of their own.
More specific information on the Marine Corps vision and strategy is available at www.mccdc.usmc.mil.
Ellie