By Rep. J. Randy Forbes
Amphibious combat capabilities are vital to the U.S. military. This is no more so than in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Amphibious warfare.” To most Americans, the term conjures up images from HBO’s The Pacific, where U.S. Marines assault the beaches of Pacific islands on their way to Tokyo. Sure, it served its purpose in World War II, but are we ever going to need to fight our way onto a beach again? A decade of combat in the Middle East has only strengthened the opinion that the Marine Corps may be a muscular instrument of warfare, but its amphibious tradition is now ancient history.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Our Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to conduct joint amphibious operations bestows the United States with a range of unique capabilities that will be in high demand in tomorrow’s uncertain security environment, specifically in the Indo-Pacific maritime region.
Read the full story at The Diplomat