Report: Corps acquisition programs misguided

[unhappycamper]

Report: Corps acquisition programs misguided
By Bryan Mitchell - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 7, 2008 9:44:18 EST

Scrap the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, scale back plans to buy hundreds of MV-22 Ospreys and add variants of the Joint Strike Fighter.

Those are some of the key recommendations from a recent think tank report on preparing the Corps for the future, authored by a former strategic adviser to Commandant Gen. James Jones.

“You have invested institutional capital and reputations on these programs,” said retired Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington and author of the report. “If … threats have changed, though, does the Corps have the ability to reassess and adjust its programs accordingly? That’s the question for the Marine Corps.”

The Nov. 17 report, part of the group’s “Strategy For The Long Haul” series, is one of 16 papers commissioned by the think tank aimed at providing President-elect Barack Obama’s administration a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing national defense.

The Corps, meanwhile, said it’s pushing ahead with plans to field the EFV, expand its fleet of MV-22s to nearly 350 and stick strictly with the JSF’s short-takeoff variant.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/12/marine_report_120708w/%2e

[jimmil]

1. The absolute truth is...

that the United States cannot support an already very bloated defense budget. Every service will have to take a hit with the Air Force and Navy the largest because their programs cost the most. $600+ billion a year is going to bankrupt this country. Well, it already is.