Time to Stand Down: Justification for the Decommissioning of USMC Reserve F/A-18 Squadrons

Abstract

In an uncertain world, the Marine Corps must learn to stretch every dollar available to maximize its war fighting capability. Escalating operation and maintenance costs, budgetary constraints, and increased deployment tempos all emphasize this point. Unfortunately, by continuing to cling to the excess infrastructure of reserve F/A-18 Hornet squadrons, the Marine Corps is spreading its resources too thin and risking not sufficiently equipping its active duty forces with the tools required to succeed in combat. Although maintaining reserve squadrons may have been justified in the past, the elimination of the four remaining reserve E/A-18 squadrons would greatly benefit the Marine Corps. These improvements include decreased operational costs, better personnel management, and increased aircraft availability.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 20, 2004
Accession Number
ADA491882

Entities

People

  • E. S. Jakubowski
  • T. K. Hobbs

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Agreements
  • Aircraft Wings
  • Aircrafts
  • Deployment
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Instructors
  • International Organizations
  • Korean War
  • Marine Corps
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Squadrons
  • Training
  • United States
  • War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies