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| File Photo: USN ARG with embarked MEU |
ABOARD THE USS WASP: For the first time, Marine and Navy planners have melded a carrier strike group into the Marine Corps' premiere amphibious operations wargame known as Bold Alligator. This appears to bridge what had appeared to be a growing divide between a Marine Corps eager to build more amphibious ships and a Navy intent on saving its existing carrier fleet. It also offers very concrete proof of the Marines recommitment to amphibious warfare, which they regard as their core competency.
This year also marks the first time military leaders conducted Bold Alligator with live ships, soldiers and aircraft. Called the largest amphibious exercise in 10 years, it was designed to replicate a sea-to-shore assault spearheaded by U.S. and coalition forces against enemy troops from a fictional country. This year, enemy troops from the country of "Garnet" invaded the neighboring country of "Amberland". Just like last year's virtual exercise, American and coalition forces were sent in to push back the invading forces. But unlike last year, the Navy and Marine Corps decided to bring the USS Enterprise with them.
The addition of the carrier group to Bold Alligator, which Marine Corps leaders have touted as a touchstone event in the service's effort to get back to the shoreline, comes at an interesting time. A number of top service brass, including Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, has been pushing the Pentagon to add more amphibs to the Navy fleet. The ships, he argued, can compliment or -- to a certain extent -- replicate a carrier's capabilities at a much lower cost. They are also key to the service's return to its amphibious roots. For its part, the Navy argues that carriers, including the new Ford-class, will be critical to supporting the department's pivot from Southwest Asia to the Western Pacific. Looming defense budget cuts, set to begin in fiscal year 2013, has only inflamed that rhetoric inside the beltway. But both arguments got a shot in the arm in recent weeks.
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