The Marine Corps pushes into 2018 under a cloud of uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Corps\u2019 leadership wants to grow the force, but how to pay for it remains unclear. Marines are still in Afghanistan training, advising and assisting in a classic counterinsurgency fight, but the Corps also feels a growing urgency to prepare for a full-scale conventional fight against a near-peer adversary like Russia or China. The readiness problems of the past five years are more pressing than ever \u2014 especially in Marine Corps aviation \u2014 but the top brass has been unable to offer a long-term solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a preview of what\u2019s in store \u2014 and what\u2019s in flux \u2014 for the Marines in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\t