Originally Posted by
Less Hair
Facing all those possible new pacific conflict scenarios, wouldn't it be wise to expand the USMC now? More aircraft, helicopters, marine assault capabilities? And then better repair all those lost island bases in the pacific in time.
It would make sense, yes. But to do that means that one of the other services has to eat a loss in manpower and budget. (Probably).
A bun fight within the Pentagon and within Congress would need to happen first before that course of action were taken.
Of some interest in terms of what you'd expect to see in terms of manpower:
U.S. Military Personnel 1954-2014: The Numbers (historyinpieces.com)
I'd need to muddle around looking for more recent figures, but you can see how the comparative manpower stack ups trend.
As an aside, recruiting has been impacted by some demographic problems.
The pool of those eligible to join the military continues to shrink, with more young men and women than ever disqualified for obesity, drug use or criminal records. Last month, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testified before Congress that only 23% of Americans ages 17-24 are qualified to serve without a waiver to join, down from 29% in recent years.
2022 recruiting article.
2022 End Strength.
To pay for new capabilities and accommodate a flat budget top line, the Marine Corps cuts active-duty end strength on a path to about 172,000, the level before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ground forces gain long-range precision fires but give up three infantry battalions, tanks, and most counterinsurgency capabilities.
Most artillery convert from cannon to missile units. These changes are all underway. Final designs for logistics, reserve, and reconnaissance forces are still under development.
Marine aviation gets smaller, consistent with cuts in the ground forces.
Emerging concepts imply cuts to manned aircraft, particularly the F-35, but such plans are still under development.
source is this analysis:
U.S. Military Forces in FY 2022: Marine Corps (csis.org)