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The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps face a critical shortfall in amphibious readiness, with only twelve operational ships available for global crises.
For the past five years, the US Congress has largely neglected this issue, and the ongoing challenges within the Navy and Marine Corps have been either ignored or superficially addressed. The Biden administration has not fully recognized the severity of the situation. Even with immediate action from both the administration and Congress, it would take at least ten years to restore the Corps to its 2018 status under General Berger's leadership.
Despite these issues, General Eric Smith, Berger's successor, has consistently refused to acknowledge the problem. During the Iraq invasion, the Marines deployed a corps-sized force, however, they can now only muster a regimental combat team, which lacks tanks and heavy engineering capabilities, making it nearly ineffective in modern large-scale conflicts, such as those against the Houthis or potentially Iran..
. Today, the Marine Corps could barely produce a regimental combat team, and that would be light infantry, virtually useless in a modern war. .
A fter the imbroglio over the leaked conversation about airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen dies down, there will be one issue unresolved. The United States will have found that the Houthis are still firing missiles into the Bab al Mandeb against international shipping at the southern approach to the Suez Canal. Airstrikes alone against a determined foe using mobile missile launchers and hiding key facilities among civilians have never worked.
That is why the Israelis were forced to invade Gaza. Once he becomes frustrated with the fact that Houthi missiles and drones are still flying. President Trump will likely ask why.
Eventually, someone will have to tell him that it will likely take a ground incursion to eliminate them. They will also probably tell him that it will take a ground incursion to root out the launchers and command and..
. Global Affairs.
