{"id":24102,"date":"2016-05-17T16:46:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T16:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/05\/17\/there-s-a-call-to-add-thousands-more-marines-here-s-how-it-might-work\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:29:57","slug":"there-s-a-call-to-add-thousands-more-marines-here-s-how-it-might-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/05\/17\/there-s-a-call-to-add-thousands-more-marines-here-s-how-it-might-work\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s a call to add thousands more Marines. Here’s how it might work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There could be 3,000 more Marines in uniform next year as Congress weighs boosting the size of the service \u2014 but one of the Corps’ top leaders said it still might not be enough.\u00a0just as the Corps ends a forced post-war drawdown that required it to shed 20,000 leathernecks from its ranks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

House lawmakers are calling\u00a0for the Marine Corps to be increased to\u00a0185,000 leathernecks.\u00a0But\u00a0Assistant Commandant Gen. John Paxton said Monday that in order to meet all of its missions, the Corps needs at least 186,800 Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the number of Marines the service needed in 2011, before across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration went into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2011, the Marine Corps determined it needed a total of 186,600 Marines to meet all of its missions, but now the service may need even more than that, according to Assistant Commandant Gen. John Paxton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House lawmakers are calling for the Corps to have 3,000 more Marines than planned after the drawdown. Last Thursday, however, the Senate unveiled its version in line with the President’s plan to keep a smaller force, setting the stage for a congressional showdown over whether the military has been slashed too far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That was before Ukraine, before Syria, before South China Sea, before WikiLeaks,” Paxton said told reporters on Monday <\/span>at the annual Sea-Air-Space exposition held outside of Washington, D.C. “To us, 186,800 is about the floor so the number may [need to]\u00a0be north of there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having more Marines would allow the service Corps <\/span>to retain its conventional punch while also specializing in new certain <\/span>skill sets to meet Russia’s and China\u2019s advances in cyber and electronic warfare, Paxton added.said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Commandant Gen. Robert Neller isn’t confident he’ll get 185,000 Marines,\u00a0let alone get the extra 1,800 Marines his deputy is calling for.\u00a0The issue is gearing up to end in\u00a0a congressional showdown as the Senate’s plan falls in line with the current planned end\u00a0strength of 182,000 Marines in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a look at what’s at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘The world has changed’\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the military services have faced steep budget cuts in recent years, but Marines’ operational deployment <\/span>tempo has yet to slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. troops have been increasingly<\/span> tapped to respond to aggressive acts by Russia, the rise of the Islamic State group and a more assertive China. Those issues weren’t high on many people’s minds when the military personnel drawdowns kicked off.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The world has changed,” said noted <\/span>Mark Cancian, a retired Marine officer and senior international security adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Arguably the world is a more dangerous place than had been envisioned, and this feeds into the belief that forces at least have to stop getting smaller and actually start getting larger.”\u00a0If the House gets its way, here\u2019s what an additional 3,000 Marines would mean.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Marines with Combined Arms Company fire an M1A1 Abrams tank during a field training exercise at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria, Sept. 21, 2015. The Marines underwent several days in the field to prepare for multinational training exercises over the next few months. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Melanye E. Martinez\/Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marines with the Bulgaria-based Combined Arms Company fire an M1A1 Abrams tank during a field training exercise in Eastern Europe. The new Marine unit was stood up last year to assure allies in the region concerned about Russian aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Lance Cpl. Melanye Martinez\/Marine Corps<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, Marines carried out approximately 100 land operations, 20 amphibious missions, 140 theater security cooperation events and 160 major exercises, Commandant Gen. Robert <\/span>Neller noted in a March briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That type of operational tempo has left the force pinched in certain areas, especially as budgets continue to shrink<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New threats Better capabilities<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Congress might expect the Marine Corps to buy back another<\/span> infantry battalion or two, Cancian said it’s more <\/span>likely the service would have other ideas. as the service strives to meet the “new normal.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber Marines, drone operators and other high-tech specialties will be needed to meet the new <\/span>threats posed by countries like Russia and China, he said noted<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force and 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company conducts a mission on Virtual Battlespace 3, while receiving support from a Joint Terminal Attack Controller during Emerald Warrior, aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 9, 2016. Simulation centers from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., Eglin AFB, F.L., Cannon AFB, N.M. and Distributed Training Operations Center, I.A. all took part in Emerald Warrior providing various support assets vital to the JTACs mission of bringing the air element to the ground element. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin T. Updegraff\/ Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marines with 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company conduct a mission on a simulation center called Virtual Battlespace 3. As missions get more technical and complicated, the Marine Corps may need additional cyber warriors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Justin Updegraff\/Marine Corps<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Marines “would help the Corps build these new kinds of capabilities without having to cut the old capabilities, because that is a hard trade-off<\/span>,” Cancian said. “… It might help them fill in some of the shortages in the current structure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving\u00a0Preserving <\/span>readiness \u2014 especially in the\u00a0aviation community\u00a0\u2014\u00a0would likely be another priority. is a key area for this, a point the Commandant has repeatedly emphasized.<\/span>Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee\u00a0sounded the alarms about a military readiness crisis earlier this month\u00a0in a May 3 press release <\/span>following reports that the Marine Corps is experiencing trouble with its aviation fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

As a result, the lawmakers proposed “increasing Marine Corps end strength by 3,000 Marines to help address shortfalls in critical skill sets and fully funding the military pay raise to help incentivize Marines to stay in the Corps,” according to a release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curbing long deployments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2011, the Marine Corps determined it needed a total of 186,600 Marines to meet all of its missions, but now the service may need even more than that, according to Assistant Commandant Gen. John Paxton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That was before Ukraine, before Syria, before South China Sea, before Wikileaks,” he told reporters on Monday at the annual Sea-Air Space expo held outside of Washington, D.C. “To us, 186,600 is about the floor so the number may be north of there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having more Marines would allow the Corps to retain its conventional punch while also specializing in certain skill sets to meet Russia and China’s advances in cyber and electronic warfare, Paxton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 2,300 West Coast-based Marines recently arrived in the Middle East for a nine-month deployment. Members of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Task Force Spartan also remained behind in Iraq recently as the rest of their unit returned home. They could be there until August, which would leave them deployed for about 10 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dakota Wood, a retired Marine Corps<\/span> officer and senior research fellow at the for Defense Programs at the <\/span>Heritage Foundation, said Marines should expect to take on more work if the service’s end\u00a0strength remains at 182,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This presents an issue if tasks remain what they are or increase, according to Dakota Wood, a retired Marine Corps officer and senior research fellow for Defense Programs at the Heritage Foundation.The current reality, however, is that the Corps has to do a lot more with less: the planned end strength for 2016 is 182,000 Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Unless workload decreases commensurate with the size of the force, the Marines who remain in a smaller Corps have no option but to shoulder longer days and more deployments,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the Marines’ current crisis response task force to central command was extended to a nine month deployment versus six months for previous rotations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deployments stretching beyond the typical six months could be the new norm not only for planned missions, but also as Marines respond to unexpected\u00a0This also doesn\u2019t include any additional <\/span>crises America\u2019s 911 force might have to respond to<\/span>, Wood added. Since natural disasters or other threats can pop up unexpectedly, it’s nearly impossible to plan for them or\u00a0predict where they’ll take place, he said, which poses challenges for a force already stretched thin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These situations can occur anywhere in the world so it is impossible to predict one place, or situation, or threat actor over another,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expense\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding thousands more 3,000 <\/span>Marines comes with a price tag, and how. How<\/span> the military will foot that bill is still up for debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House’s plan, which\u00a0would shift involving shifting $18 billion in funds from\u00a0the\u00a0current overseas operations budget, – is a financial gamble. It’s unclear how the government would pay for increases past next April budget would run out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The costs associated with any kind of plus-up would of the proposed larger force <\/span>also depend on what kind of Marines would be added, said Col. William Tosick, deputy director of Manpower Policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding more junior Marines through the typical accession process is relatively simple, he said. said Col. William Tosick, deputy director of Manpower Policy.<\/span> The Marine Corps would simply recruit and train more new leathernecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But adding more seasoned noncommissioned officers, senior NCOs<\/span> or officers is more complex and expensive, he said. If the service needs to retain its most-experienced Marines, it might require more money for re-enlistment bonuses.\u00a0\u00a0as the Marine Corps would need to place a complicated and expensive, requiring a greater emphasis on retention \u2014 and that could require more money for\u00a0and possibly increased incentives, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It takes time to recruit, train, promote and assign Marines to new structures\u00a0\u2014\u00a0especially with aviation and cyber-related units,” Tosick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jessica Kerr, a plane captain with Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VMAQ) 2, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing conducts maintenance on a Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler assigned to VMAQ-2, prior to a flight during Exercise Northern Edge 15 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 15, 2015. Northern Edge is Alaska\u2019s premier joint training exercise designed to practice operations, techniques and procedures as well as enhance interoperability among the services. Thousands of participants from all services, Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen from active duty, Reserve and National Guard units are involved. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Suzanne Dickson\/Released)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lance Cpl. Jessica Kerr, a member of Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2, conducts maintenance on an EA-6B Prowler. Training Marines to work in fields like aviation maintenance or cyber requires an investment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Suzanne Dickson\/Marine Corps<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding more Marines would also come as the Corps has a harder time filling these kinds of jobs, especially with first-term re-enlistments on the decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the proposal were to go through both chambers, there’s a strong possibility President Obama would veto it, as he did last year’s $38 billion add-on for overseas contingency operations, Cancian said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have this larger problem which is this may all be irrelevant,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, Neller said he’s preparing to make do with the size of the Marine Corps as it stands today.\u00a0however, the Corps is preparing to hold the line with the Marines it has, the Commandant said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The real thing is: OK, how do we transition this force?” he said Monday at the Sea-Air-Space expo. “I’m not assuming that we’re going to get the funding to get any more people even though there’s actions in the legislation to do that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Reporter Jeff Schogol contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew L. Schehl covers training and education, recruiting, West Coast Marines, MARSOC, and operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Marine Corps Times. He can be reached at\u00a0mschehl@marinecorpstimes.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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