Is The Marine Corps’s New Battlewagon A Better Tank-Killer Than The Service’s Tanks

A U.S. Marine drives a Joint Light Tactical Vehicles at White Beach as part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force JLTV Operator New Equipment Training course on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Oct. 24, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Drake Nickels) 

Task & Purpose: The Marine Corps’s new battlewagon is a better tank-killer than the service’s tanks, general says 

Here comes the JLTV. 

The Marine Corps may be in the process of ditching its tanks as it retools towards dealing with near-peer threats in the Pacific, but that doesn’t mean the service’s anti-armor capabilities are falling by the wayside. 

According to Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration, the service’s brand new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle outfitted with “lightweight mounted fires” is capable of killing armor at between 15 and 20 times the range of an M1 Abrams main battle tank. 

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WNU Editor: These vehicles must pack a lot of firepower.

A New Shooting Grip For U.S. Marines?

Recruits with Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion practiced breathing techniques and various marksmanship fundamentals during grass week. April 23, 2020. (Lance Cpl. Devin Darden/ Marine Corps)

Marine Times: What the hell is this shooting grip?

Some recent images from boot camp and a Marine shooting a simulator in Australia depict an obscure shooting grip not officially taught by any Marine Corps program of instruction.

The images show a recruit at Parris Island, South Carolina, and a Marine in Darwin, Australia, shooting in the standing and prone respectively, but holding the rifle in a manner not commonly done by Marines undergoing marksmanship training across the school houses.

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WNU Editor: Guess what grip I am going to try out when I find myself on a firing range.

Watch How China's Female Marines Are Trained (Video)

WNU Editor: Swimming through a pool of water under burning fire ?!?!?!?!

China Is Tripling The Size Of Its Marine Corps

Chinese Marines

Michael Peck, National Interest: China is Tripling the Size of Its Marine Corps

A more powerful Chinese marine corps is also a threat to Taiwan, which has lived under the shadow of Chinese amphibious invasion for almost 70 years. However, it appears that the Chinese army would conduct major amphibious operations such as assaulting Taiwan, while the PLANMC would be tasked with smaller operations such as seizing small islands.

China is bulking up its marine corps.

China's People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps will only be a fraction of the size and power of the U.S. Marine Corps. But like their American counterparts, the PLANMC is becoming an expeditionary force to project Chinese power around the globe.

"I would argue that over several years, the PLANMC has been developing into a rapid response force that could be tasked with conducting a variety of expeditionary missions to defend China's overseas interests," Alan Burns, a China expert with the non-profit Center for Naval Analyses in Arlington, Virginia, told The National Interest.

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WNU Editor: The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps will still be a fraction of the size and power of the U.S. Marine Corps. But the trend line is clear. China's Marine Corps will be increasing it's scope and power over time.

New Marine Recruiting Commercial

From Defense Tech:

Marines are legendary for their ability to improvise, adapt, and think on their feet. No war plan survives first contact with the enemy -- that sort of stuff. So it's interesting to see that the famous Marine adaptability translates comfortably from the battlefield to their marketing campaigns. Witness the latest USMC recruiting commercial, superbly done and clearly targeted at young men and women who -with the economy being as it is- no longer have post-college civilian sector jobs to count on.

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The National Museum Of The Marine Corps

Motorcycles Are More Dangerous To Marines Than Insurgents

Marine Motorcycle Deaths Top Their
Iraq Combat Fatalities -- CNN

QUANTICO, Virginia (CNN) -- Motorcycle accidents have killed more Marines in the past 12 months than enemy fire in Iraq, a rate that's so alarming, it has prompted top brass to call a meeting to address the issue, officials say.

Twenty-five Marines have died in motorcycle crashes since November -- all but one of them involving sport bikes that can reach speeds of well over 100 mph, according to Marine officials. In that same period, 20 Marines have been killed in action in Iraq.

The 25 deaths are the highest motorcycle death toll ever for the Marine Corps.

Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told CNN that commanders are trying to drill down on what "we need to do to help our Marines survive on these sport bikes."

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My Comment: In the past 20 years, my next door neighbor (a former SEAL in Vietnam) was killed in a motorcycle accident, and my girlfriend's brother was killed on his bike. This article hits very close to home.