Friday, November 18, 2011

How deep will the Marines cut personnel?

via National Defense Magazine.
Former Secretary Robert Gates before his departure gave his approval to the 186,800 number, “but that was before everything began to unravel financially,” Amos said.

“My sense is that we’re probably going to go lower than that. I can’t tell you how much lower because that decision has not been made yet,” he added. “We are going to come down well below 186,800,” he said. “I think we’re going to be OK. I think we will still be able to do what our nation expects of us.”

However, there will be a reduction in capacity, which he described as “depth on the bench.”  If there are simultaneous events occurring in three parts of the world that the Marine Corps normally would respond to, it may mean it could only carry out operations in two of them, he added.
Read the whole thing but that makes me wonder a couple of things...

1.  Are we going to see a couple of battalions case their colors?

2.  How are you going to plus size the Marine Special Forces and reduce the number of Marines at the same time?

3.  How low can we go?  Is 150,000 the number he's talking or God forbid could it be even lower????


Totally depressing news.  You're going to have some outstanding Marines forced out and some ass kissers are going to be retained.  The Commandant needs to fix the selection board process ASAP.

4 comments :

  1. This is something we have been expecting. Your very right on the wrong marines going home I know of a few snco's who have foreman dui's recently but recieved no njp or punishment a nco or troop would of gotten.. I'm just hoping its not going to be like the 90s were people just got let go.

    As for battalions going away its going to happen. The bench is going to look very light soon.

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  2. yeah they've been floating this for a looong time. but what you mentioned is exactly what i'm worried about.

    good ole' boys taking care of each other and i'm talking about the butt kissing jokers that know the right people...don't deploy but get promoted...don't do B billets or any type of training yet are still considered top 10% of there rank...

    have you heard numbers on what the possible end strength might be???

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  3. No but if I had to bet i would say somewhere around the same strengjt we had during the Clinton years.

    And again as for b billets, lack of one is not a bad thing. Mos experience means more from the last few boards. One reason I'm not stressing a b billet, and if they are looking for outside my own job experience I've got plenty of that...ever seen a aav in afgan, year outside the mos

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  4. you're a unique case but you have to admit that its usually one of the wickets you have to hit on your way up the ladder.

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