2nd CAV "Team Reaper" Brings The Pain!

Am I wrong for wanting a robust, mobile, Ground Combat Element that can make the runs to Baghdad without missing a beat?  Is it too much to ask that the same attention paid to the aviation side of the house be given to the ground side?

Reforming the USMC Armor house is or rather should be a priority.  We're seeing a resurgent Russia, a rapidly rising China and hybrid terrorist groups that mimic combined arms forces.

My proposal is simple.  Establish the ACV as the foundation of our armor house.  Bring Tanks, AAV and LAV Battalions under its roof.  Call it Marine Corps Combined Armor Teams...call it bronies...unicorns...power puffs...I don't care!  But design a family of vehicles based on the ACV (if traditionalist want to keep the entities separate then fine!).  The M1A1 would be replaced on 1 for 1 bases with a new 120mm armed ACV that should be able to swim to shore (I'm eyeing buoyancy aids...if we can't get buoyant armor then we can develop something disposable that can be left on the beach after the swim in).  The idea is that they're with the Infantry and don't have to arrive after an initial assault in follow on waves.

As far as the AAV/ACV is concerned, its past time for increased lethality!  Textron makes one man 30mm turrets that will plug and play in the space available on the AAV and we can make an informed decision on the best package available for the ACV.

As far as LAV is concerned the vehicles are bought.  But when it comes time to replace them then they will migrate to the ACV.  We might need to make that sooner rather than later, because of production line issues, but it needs to be done.  Why?  Because they face the same issues as Tanks.  They can't swim to shore and will arrive in the Assault Follow On Echelon.  That's unsat for a unit that's suppose to be fast moving and in the vanguard of Marine Corps motorized assaults.

Moving onto the other combat task, we can't overlook the engineers.  A viable, fully functional combat engineer vehicle (more robust than the Army's version) needs to be developed and SERIOUS consideration should be given to bringing back the demolition gun for urban combat and destroying particularly nasty field fortifications that I believe will be a highlight of future battlefields.

If the Army can do this then surely the Marine Corps can do it better, but we need to be aware.  They have straws out to drink our milkshake...we're not enemies and we're definitely on the same side, but we are rivals...whether we admit it or not.  We either get on board and get ahead or risk getting run over.