The Unnecessary Front: Reconsidering The Corps's East Asian Bases

Abstract

Military surges are in vogue. Most recently, the United States sent an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan. Looking farther back, the world remembers the influx of troops into Iraq. Now, another "surge" is underway -- U.S. marines are preparing to storm the beaches of Guam, set up residence, bring their dependents, and attract thousands of contractors. The goal is to downsize their presence in Okinawa while maintaining guard against foreign threats. The plan is to spend $10.3 billion relocating almost half of Okinawa's marines, but the problem is that the move is a waste -- the United States no longer needs permanent marine bases in East Asia. Regardless if the Corps bases in Okinawa or Guam, their prominence in the East Asian strategy has ended. The United States should transition Okinawa's marines to smaller, strategically located bases worldwide (i.e., the Lily Pad Basing Concept).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 10, 2011
Accession Number
ADA546547

Entities

People

  • Tim Caucutt

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amphibious Operations
  • Amphibious Ships
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Health Services
  • International Organizations
  • International Security
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Navy
  • North Korea
  • Political Science
  • Security
  • United States
  • United States Southern Command
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal and Marine Engineering/Sediment Transport/Hydraulic Engineering
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.