chapter 1
The U.S. Marine Corps:

America’s Expeditionary Force in Readiness

America’s Marines are fully engaged in the fight for freedom, peace and security 

around the globe. They are engaged in a generational struggle against those bent on 

destruction of our vital interests and our homeland. They are forward deployed in the 

opening battles of the Long War—Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world in every 

climate and place. Our Marines and Sailors, at home and in combat overseas, are our 

number-one priority in all that we do. It is through their tremendous sacrifices and 

those of their fellow service men and women that we will ultimately prevail.

 During the past year, with 24,000 Marines deployed throughout the U.S. Central 

Command’s Area of Responsibility, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom 

remained our largest commitment. The Marine Corps supported surge operations in 

Iraq with two additional infantry battalions and their associated enabling forces. As 

part of the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) in Iraq, these forces have proven 

extremely effective disrupting insurgent activities in the Al Anbar province.

The Marine Corps also deployed forces to participate in more than 60 Theater 

Security Cooperation events, ranging from small Mobile Training Teams in Central 

America to Marine Expeditionary Unit exercises in Africa, the Middle East and the 

Pacific. The Marine Corps also took part in civil-military and humanitarian assistance 

operations, such as New Horizons events in Nicaragua, land mine removal training in 

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Azerbaijan and cyclones in Bangladesh. 

In October 2007, the U.S. Navy, 

Marine Corps and Coast Guard published 

their Cooperative Maritime Strategy for 

the 21st Century, which unifies America’s 

Naval Services within a common strategic and operational framework to safeguard U.S. interests, citizens and friends 

wherever they might be at risk—from the 

homeland to operating areas throughout 

the world. This strategy underscores the 

Marine Corp’s critical role as the world’s 

foremost expeditionary warfighting organization. Our expeditionary readiness and 

agile combined-arms structure allow the 

Marine Corps to meet global demands 

and challenges. Our Marines continue to 

display to the nation and the world the 

meaning and importance of an “expeditionary” force with unquestionable value 

in the Long War. 

In close collaboration with the Army, 

Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, we 

must be able to adapt rapidly to broad 

strategic dynamics as well as wideranging threats. As a Corps, we must 

be where our country needs us, when 

she needs us and to prevail over whatever challenges we face. To successfully 

carry out this mission, our focus is on the 

following objectives:

• Right-size the Marine Corps for today’s

 conflict and tomorrow’s uncertainty 

• Reset the force and prepare for the next 

contingency

• Modernize for tomorrow to be “the most 

ready when the Nation is least ready”

• Provide our Nation a naval force that is fully 

prepared for employment as a MAGTF across 

the spectrum of conflict

• Sustain the Individual Marine and 

their families

• Look beyond the horizon—posture the 

Marine Corps for the future

These priorities are enduring and 

serve not only today’s conflict, but also 

the inevitable crises that will arise in our 

Nation’s future.

Right-sizing the 

Marine Corps

To meet the demands of the Long 

War, as well as the unforeseen crises that 

will inevitably arise, our Corps must be 

a multi-capable force, manned, trained 

and equipped. Like the Cold War, the 

Long War is a long-term struggle that will 

be measured by our success not deployments or rotations; it is the long-term 

view that informs our priorities and plan 

for growth. 

To fulfill our obligations to the nation, 

the Marine Corps will grow its personnel 

end strength to 202,000 Active Component Marines by fiscal year 2011. This 

increase of 27,000 Marines will enable 

the Corps to train to the full spectrum of 
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military operations and improve the ability of the Marine Corps to meet future 

uncertain challenges. We will recover our 

ability to respond fully to the Combatant 

Commander war plans—reducing operational risk. The current size of the Marine 

Corps dictates an almost singular focus 

on preparing units for their next rotation 

and counterinsurgency operations. This 

focus and the deployment rate of many 

units threaten our traditional skills, such 

as combined-arms maneuver, mountain 

warfare and amphibious operations. By 

increasing the deployment-to-dwell ratio, 

we can accomplish more comprehensive 

training needed to develop sophisticated 

skill sets that have enabled the MAGTF to 

consistently achieve success in any battle. 

Further, this growth will relieve the strain 

on those superb Americans who have 

volunteered to fight the nation’s battles. 

There are two main components in attaining our growth goals: recruiting and 

retention; and increasing infrastructure 

and equipment.

Our recruiters have met current 

challenges and exceeded expectations. 

Through their tireless efforts we surpassed last year’s goals. With more than 

70 percent of our end strength increase 

comprising Marines in their first enlistment, our recruiting efforts are a critical 

part of the overall growth. While exceeding DoD quality standards, the Marine 

Corps continues to recruit the best of 

America into our ranks. In fiscal year 

2007, the Marine Corps achieved more 

than 100 percent of both our Active and 

Reserve Component accession goals. We 

have added more recruiters to meet the 

fiscal year 2008 challenges and are on 

track to again exceed our recruiting targets this year. Additionally, we must maintain warfighting proficiency by retaining 

quality, experienced Marines to ensure 

we grow our force with proper grade and 

skill set mix. Incentive bonuses, our principal retention tool, have enabled the Marine Corps to achieve retention rates sig-
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nificantly higher than historical norms. 

Our challenge in fiscal year 2008 and 

beyond is to achieve our annual retention 

goal of 5,000 Marines above the historical 

average.

The second major component of our 

growth is to provide facilities and equipment for additional Marines. We continually prioritize our requirements based on 

current operations and equipment needs. 

As a result, we have taken equipment 

from pre-positioned stocks to equip new 

units. We have also adjusted construction 

projects to provide training and operating facilities to new units. Finally, we have 

increased funding to support Public Private Venture family housing and more 

than tripled our fiscal year 2008 request 

for bachelor housing. It is imperative 

that we provide quality housing for our 

men and women who have answered 

the nation’s call to arms. In sum, the end 

strength increase to 202,000 Marines addresses much more than the current conflict, it ensures the Corps will be able to 

more effectively deal with the spectrum 

of future uncertainties. 

Resetting the Force

As we right-size the Marine Corps 

for the next contingency we must also 

reset our force stressed by the current 

conflict. Our equipment has passed the 

test of sustained operations, but it has 

been subjected to intense usage and harsh 

environmental conditions, resulting in 

escalating maintenance and increased 

equipment replacement. As the conflict 

demands more of our force, the cost of 

resetting equipment to ensure unit readiness increases. To ensure unit readiness 

and prudent use of resources, difficult 

choices have been made between equipment replacement and modernization 

with next generation equipment. 

There are several challenges to our 

reset effort. First, industry has not always 

been able to keep pace with our current 

equipment demand. As a result, we have 

used pre-positioned stocks and non-deploying unit equipment to support Marines in the theaters of operations. This 

has forced prioritization of equipment 

deliveries among reset, pre-positioning 

stocks, and growing the force units based 

on urgency of need. The second chal-
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lenge is the availability of equipment to 

be repaired by the depots. Most equipment is not rotating out of theater at 

the conclusion of each force rotation; it 

remains in combat, used on a near-continuous basis at an operating tempo that 

far exceeds normal peacetime usage. The 

depots have aggressively worked to stabilize conditions and are prepared to repair 

that equipment, and funding has been 

requested in our Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) supplemental requests to 

accelerate equipment rotation and repair 

cycles. Our cumulative reset cost estimate 

is $15.6 billion. As of February 2008, 

Congress has appropriated a total of 

$10.9 billion for Marine Corps reset costs. 

As we continue the fight, reset costs will 

continue to increase.
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Modernizing for Tomorrow

Individual Survivability

Our modernization efforts are twopronged. We are adapting to immediate 

threats and developing new equipment to 

enhance future capabilities. The Marine 

Corps continues to pursue technological 

advances in personal protective equipment as its highest research priority. Fully 

recognizing the trade-off between weight, 

protection, fatigue and movement restriction, we are providing Marines the 

latest in technological advancements in 

personal protective equipment—such as 

the Modular Tactical Vest (Body Armor), 

QuadGard (Arms/Legs), Lightweight 

Helmet (Head Protection) and Flame 

Resistant Organizational Gear (flame exposure). Our Marines in combat deserve 

nothing less.

In concert with individual equipment, we are providing the most capable 

force protection systems available. We are 

upgrading our Counter Remote-Controlled IED Electronic Warfare systems 

to meet rapidly evolving threats. We are 

enhancing our ability to combat the effects of weapons of mass destruction, 

and protecting our Marines worldwide, 

by fielding consequence management 

tools that complement the capabilities of 

our Family of Incident Response Systems 

and the Chemical Biological Incident 

Response Force. The current array of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Equipment 

has undergone significant modernization 

through enhancement of technician tool 

kits and greater counter-IED robotics 

capability and availability. The Ground/

Air Task Oriented Radar system will integrate five legacy systems providing a 

robust expeditionary, three-dimensional 

air defense force protection asset for 

our commanders. Finally, we continue 

to respond to the urgent needs of forces 

in theater while building a solid core of 

enduring force protection capabilities for 

the future. 
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Ground Mobility

The Army and Marine Corps are 

leading joint efforts in the development 

of tactical wheeled vehicle capabilities. 

Our efforts will provide the joint force 

an appropriate balance of survivability, 

mobility, payload, networking, transportability, and sustainability. The Army/

Marine Corps Board has proven a valuable forum for coordination of development and fielding strategies. The success 

of these efforts can be seen in the fielding of armored vehicles such as the Mine 

Resistent Ambush Protectant (MRAP), 

the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement 

with Marine Armor System, the Logistics 

Vehicle System with the Marine Armor 

Kit and the Up-armored High Mobility 

Multi-Wheeled Vehicle.

As we respond to immediate war 

fighter needs for vehicle improvements, 

we continue to look into the future to 

improve our maneuver capabilities. To 

enhance our unique and flexible forced 

entry capability we continue to develop the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle 

(EFV), Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC), 

and Internally Transported Vehicle (ITV). 

These vehicles will interface with joint 

Army/Marine Corps efforts such as the 

Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) that 

will provide future protected expeditionary mobility. 

MAGTF Fires

Our Triad of Ground Indirect Fires 

provides for complementary, discriminating, and non-discriminating fires that 

facilitate maneuver during combat operations. The Indirect Fires Triad requires 

a medium-caliber artillery cannon (lightweight 155mm towed howitzer); ground-
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based rockets (High Mobility Artillery 

Rocket System); and a mortar with greater lethality and tactical mobility than current artillery systems (Expeditionary Fire 

Support System).

Marine Aviation

On a daily basis, Marines rely on aircraft to provide a wide array of mission 

capability, including effective close air 

support for troops in contact with the 

enemy and casualty evacuation. The 2007 

Marine Aviation Plan provides the way 

ahead for the next 10 years as it transitions squadrons from 13 legacy aircraft to 

six new aircraft; it incorporates individual 

program changes and synchronizes support of our end strength growth to these 

robust, Marine Expeditionary Forces 

(MEFs). These new aircraft include the 

Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), MV-22 Osprey, 

KC-130J, Upgraded H-1s, and CH-53Ks. 

Legacy aircraft production lines are no 

longer active—intensifying the negative 

impact of combat losses and increasing 

the urgency for funding support for our 

Aviation Plan to keep it on schedule.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

The Marine Corps is aggressively 

pursuing improved organic UAS capabilities. At the same time, we have 

transitioned Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 

squadrons (VMU) to the RQ-7B Shadow, 

reorganizing force structure to support 

detachment-based flexibility; operating 

three UAS systems for each squadron; 

and standing up a third VMU squadron.

The Tier III UAS serves at the MEF 

level with speed and endurance to cover 

the entire MEF battlespace. Tier II UAS 

supports Regimental Combat Team and 

Marine Expeditionary Unit operations, 

and Tier I UAS supports battalion and below operations. This rapid transition and 

reorganization, begun in January 2007, 

will be complete by the fourth quarter 

of 2009. Once accomplished, it will significantly enhance organic Marine Corps 

UAS capability while increasing joint interoperability and commonality.

Command and Control

The distributed force concept requires 

greater command and control. The Marine 

Corps’ Command and Control Harmonization Strategy marries joint integrating 

concepts and articulates our goal of delivering an end-to-end, fully-integrated, 

cross-functional capability to include forward-deployed and reach-back functions. 

We envision seamless support to Marines 

in garrison and in combat—taking the 

best of emerging capabilities to build a 

single solution that includes the Common 

Aviation Command and Control System 

(CAC2S), the Tactical Communications 

Modernization (TCM) program, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and Marine Corps 

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise (MCISR-E).

Providing our Nation a

Fully Prepared Naval Force 

The enduring value of naval expeditionary forces in protecting our homeland, preventing crises, and winning our 
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nation’s wars is a key theme of the triservice maritime strategy, A Cooperative 

Strategy for 21st Century Seapower. This 

document, together with the Naval Operations Concept, emphasizes the need 

to maintain enduring U.S. advantages 

in operational maneuver, projection of 

force to facilitate access and winning the 

battle for influence—and thus preventing 

conflict—is as important as our nation 

winning wars. An essential Naval capability for achieving these objectives is joint 

Sea Basing which allows ships to mate 

at sea using inter-connector vessels that 

serve as port and airfield, enabling the 

sea as a maneuver space, reducing our 

footprint ashore, and providing an overthe-horizon capability for dominant joint 

force operations. Critical to the development of these capabilities is the security, 

persistent presence, operational freedom 

and reach afforded by powerful amphibious forces.

Amphibious Ships

Amphibious warfare ships are the 

centerpiece of the Navy-Marine Corps’ 

forcible-entry and sea-basing capability. These ships are equipped with aviation and surface assault capabilities that, 

coupled with their inherent survival and 

self-defense systems, make them ideally 

suited to support a broad range of mission requirements. Not only must naval 

forces maintain the ability to rapidly 

close, decisively employ and effectively 

sustain Marines from the sea, they must 

also efficiently respond to emerging Long 

War requirements, crisis response, and 

humanitarian assistance missions on 

short notice around the world.

The Marine Corps’ contribution to 

the nation’s forcible-entry requirement 
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is a single, simultaneously employed two 

Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) assault capability—as part of a sea-based 

Marine Expeditionary Force. Each MEB 

assault echelon requires 17 amphibious 

warfare ships—resulting in an overall 

ship requirement for 34 amphibious warfare ships. However, given current fiscal 

constraints, the Navy and Marine Corps 

have agreed to assume risk by limiting 

the assault echelon of each MEB by using 

only 15 ships per MEB; in other words, a 

Battle Force that provides 30 operationally available amphibious warfare ships.

Maritime Preposition Force

Capable of supporting the rapid deployment of three MEBs, the Maritime 

Prepositioning Force is an important 

component of the Marine Corps amphibious warfare capability. The next evolution of this program is incorporation 

of the Maritime Prepositioning Force 

Future (MPF(F)) Squadron into the existing MPF Program. MPF(F) is a key enabler for joint sea basing and will build on 

the success of the legacy Maritime Prepositioning Force program. MPF(F) will 

provide support to a wide range of military operations with improved capabilities, such as at-sea arrival and assembly, 

selective offload of specific mission sets 

and long-term, sea-based sustainment. 

The MPF(F), along with two legacy MPF 

squadrons, will give the Marine Corps the 

capability to quickly generate three Marine Expeditionary Brigades in support of 

multiple Combatant Commanders. The 

MPF(F) squadron composition decision 

was made in May 2005; in early 2008 the 

program is in the concept development 

phase of acquisition with a Milestone B 

decision planned in fiscal year 2008.

Historically, Marine Corps amphibious power projection operations 

required a deliberate build of combat 

power ashore; only after establishment 

of a beachhead could the MAGTF begin 

to focus its combat power on the Joint 

Force’s operational objective. Advances in 

mobility, fires and sustainment capabilities will greatly enhance operations from 

over the horizon—by both air and surface means—with forces moving rapidly 

to operational objectives without stopping to seize, defend and build up beachheads or landing zones. Keys to these 

advances are the EFV, MV-22, JSF and 

the proper number of amphibious warfare and MPF(F) ships.

The Individual Marine and 

Marine Families

The individual Marine is our most 

precious asset. Our nation’s most precise, 

intelligent and flexible weapon system. 

A Marine is trained, educated, oriented 

and equipped to operate skillfully across 

a broad spectrum of tasks, blending the 

need for combat and counterinsurgency 

skills with those required for non-combat. 

A Marine operator’s focus is on warfighting excellence and represents our link to 

the past and our key to the future. Accordingly, the focus of our programs to 

enhance their battlefield effectiveness is 

to provide the necessary tools for them to 

succeed. This “equip the man, not man the 
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equipment” approach has long been at the 

center of our force-development efforts.

Integral to our focus on our Marines 

is the realization that our institution is 

ethically bound to look after their wellbeing and the welfare of their families. 

Our Marines and families have been 

steadfast and faithful in their service to 

our country, and we have an equally enduring obligation to them.

America’s Marines proudly assume 

the dangerous and necessary work of 

serving our nation. Some Marines have 

paid the ultimate price, and we continue 

to honor them as heroes who contributed 

so much to our country. Our casualty assistance program has and continues to 

evolve to ensure the families of our fallen 

Marines are always treated with the utmost compassion, dignity, and honor. Integral to this effort is the Wounded Warrior Regiment, activated in April 2007 to 

achieve unity of command and effort and 

to develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to Wounded Warrior care. 

The regiment has already implemented 

several programs providing “one-stop 

shopping” for resources and information including a Job Transition cell and a 

Wounded Warrior Call Center.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

continue to be a high priority concern 

for the Marine Corps. Commanders are 

fully engaged in promoting psychological health in our Marines, Sailors and 

family members. Our commanders bear 

responsibility for leading and training 

tough, resilient Marines and Sailors, and 

for maintaining strong, cohesive units. 

The Marine Corps has developed hyper-realistic stress inoculation training 

in environments engineered to simulate, 

as closely as possible, the sights, sounds 

and smells of combat. We have also developed programs such as the Operational 

Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR) 

program to improve access to care and 

reduce the stigma associated with these 

injuries.

The effectiveness of Marines and 

Sailors during deployment is dependent 

upon the adequacy of support provided 

to family members at home. Recognizing this, we are dedicating resources to 

improve the Marine Corps Family Team 

Building Program and bring it to wartime 

footing.

Children of service members with 
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special needs, to include pervasive developmental disorders, have additional 

medical, educational and social needs 

that are challenging to meet even when 

both parents are available. The Marine 

Corps provides programs such as the Exceptional Family Member program and 

the Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) program.

With many of these improvements 

already underway, the Marine Corps continues its proud heritage of “taking care of 

its own” by providing necessary resources 

to sustain our families and our Marines 

for the Long War. Better management of 

our personnel and the support to them 

will also help us achieve our goal of reducing strain on individual Marines and 

their families.

Beyond the Horizon: Posturing the 

Marine Corps for the Future

The Marine Corps must continue to 

adapt to changing environments and anticipate the next conflict; studying history, 

and analyzing current operations. As we 

do this we develop tools to improve operations and posture ourselves to be the 

most ready when the nation needs us.

The lynchpin of future Marine efforts 

to support the engagement requirements 

of Combatant Commanders to build 

partnership capacity will be the Security 

Cooperation MAGTF. Similar to a Marine Expeditionary Unit but regionally 

focused and organized for security cooperation, Security Cooperation MAGTFs 

will provide training and assistance to 

partner nations—shaping the environment and deterring irregular adversaries.

The Long War requires a multi-dimensional force that is well trained and 

educated for employment in all forms 

of warfare. Historically, our Corps has 

produced respected leaders who have 

demonstrated intellectual agility in warfighting. Our current deployment tempo 

increasingly places our Professional Military Education (PME) programs at risk. 

No level of risk is acceptable if it threatens 

the steady flow of thinkers, planners and 

aggressive commanders who can execute 

effectively across the entire spectrum of 

operations. Through the Marine Corps 

University (MCU) we have made substantial improvements in our Professional Military Education programs and have 

significant improvements planned for the 

future. We have integrated irregular warfare in addition to maintaining a balance 

with conventional warfare so as not to 

lose sight of our essential core competencies. Additionally, MCU has led the way 

for integration of culture and language 

by continually refining their curricula to 

provide proper balance among PME, culture, and language.

As part of our ethos, we continually 

seek ways to improve ethical decisionmaking at all levels. In 2007, we implemented several initiatives to strengthen 

Core Values training including: increased 

drill instructor “foot locker talks” on values, publishing pocket-sized Law of War, 

Rules of Engagement, and Escalation of 

Force guides, and increased instruction 

at our Commander’s Course on the com-
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mander’s role in cultivating battlefield 

ethics, accountability and responsibility.

To further understand the evolution 

of warfare, in 2007 we established the 

Center for Irregular Warfare as the primary Marine Corps agency for identifying, coordinating, and implementing irregular warfare capability initiatives. The 

Center reaches out through its Center for 

Advanced Operational Culture Learning 

(CAOCL) and Security Cooperation Education and Training Center (SCETC) to 

other military and civilian agencies.

To meet deployment requirements 

and remain skilled in the full spectrum 

of operations, Marines must now train 

to a broader range of skills. However, 

due to a high operational tempo, we face 

ever-decreasing timetables for Marines to 

achieve mastery of these skills. Our first 

major initiative to maximize effective 

use of limited time for training was the 

establishment of a standardized and welldefined Pre-deployment Training Program. Subsequently, we have instituted 

three additional training efforts: the Marine Combat Operations Training Group 

(MCTOTG); the Infantry Battalion Enhancement Period Program (IBEPP); and 

the Marine Aviation Training Systems 

Program (ATS).

In an effort to ensure realistic training 

we are evaluating future improvements to 

our training facilities. The Marine Corps 

currently lacks a comprehensive training capability to exercise all elements of a 

MAGTF in an environment that replicates 

operational conditions with our current 

equipment—as our new weapons systems 

have greatly increased ranges compared 

to legacy systems. We are studying expansion of our Marine Corps Air Ground 

Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, 

California. This will give us the maneuver space to simultaneously train three to 

four battalions in this range complex and 

train with our current equipment.

Finally to improve forward presence, we continue to evaluate our foreign bases around the globe. Our recent 

force posture agreement reached under 

the auspices of the Defense Posture Review Initiative with Japan facilitates effective employment of Marine Corps forces 

while mitigating effects of encroachment 

around United States facilities in Japan. 

The most significant Defense Posture 

Review Initiative is completion of the 

Futenma Relocation Facility on Okinawa, 

Japan. Its progress is linked to the shifting of KC-130s from Futenma to Iwakuni, 

Japan, and movement of approximately 

8,000 Marines and their family members 

from Okinawa, Japan to Guam.

Our Way Ahead

While ever-ready to respond to major combat operations, the future holds a 
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greater likelihood of irregular wars fought 

in urban environments, against thinking 

enemies using asymmetric tactics. Our 

experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly, underscore the future we face. 

We will adapt our tactics, techniques and 

procedures as well as technology to enhance our capabilities to succeed in these 

environments. The Cooperative Strategy 

for 21st Century Seapower articulates 

the strategic framework for America’s 

Sea Services—the Navy, Marine Corps 

and Coast Guard––to carry out operations that strengthens peace and security 

throughout the world. With the Navy and 

Coast Guard our nation’s Marine Corps 

will be providing far-reaching naval expeditionary capabilities for global security, 

peace and prosperity. 

We are a Marine Corps that celebrates its culture and ethos, but is never 

satisfied with its current capabilities and 

operational performance. We are a learning organization, one that embraces innovation and improvement in order to 

increase its effectiveness as part of the 

joint force. A fundamental principle is 

that we fight as combined-arms teams, 

seamlessly integrating our ground, aviation and logistics forces. We exploit the 

speed, flexibility and agility inherent in 

our combined-arms approach to defeat 

traditional, terrorist and still ill-defined 

threats to our nation’s security. We thrive 

in unpredictable environments in which 
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our forces are employed. We must ensure 

that our personnel policies, organizational construct, and training support operating at a high sustained “rate of fire.” 

This nation has high expectations of 

her Corps—as she should. America’s Marines are answering their call around the 

globe and performing with distinction in 

the face of great hardships. As they continue to serve in harm’s way, our moral 

imperative is to fully support them—we 

owe them the full resources required to 

complete the tasks we have given them. 

Now more that ever they need the sustained support of the American people 

as we simultaneously right size our force, 

reset the force during an extended war, 

modernize to face the challenges of the 

future and fulfill our commitment to 

Marine families.