<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="69917" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="World-War-I">World War I</keyword> began on June 28, 1914, but the US troops didn't join the fighting until late 1917.</li><li>In mid-1918, US Marines saw action in Europe for the first time, facing the Germans at Belleau Wood.</li><li>The battle had tremendous impact on the Corps and is still revered in Marine Corps history.</li></ul>June is usually marked by commemorations of D-Day, when thousands of Allied soldiers landed in Normandy to begin liberating France from the Nazis.But 26 years before D-Day, 9,500 US Marines fought what became one of the Corps' most defining battles, facing the Imperial German Army in fields and woods about 45 miles northeast of Paris.The <keyword id="11531307" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="battle-of-belleau-wood">Battle of Belleau Wood</keyword> in June 1918 was an attempt to halt a German offensive making its way through the battered French and British armies.It was the first battle for the Marines in Europe and one that had tremendous impact on the Corps. A century later, it still holds a sacred place in Marine Corps history.<h2>A badly needed relief force</h2><div type="image" title="A Marine with a rifle in Belleau Wood France" height="1546" width="2000" msid="83931238" hostid="261"></div>The US joined the war on the side of the Allies in April 1917. The French and British armies were exhausted after years of fighting, and the hundreds of thousands of fresh American soldiers were a badly needed relief force.By the end of June that year, the first American Expeditionary Force soldiers had arrived in France. But the Americans were mostly newcomers to this new kind of warfare and did not join the trenches until October.At first, American soldiers mostly augmented French and British defensive positions. On March 21, 1918, however, Germany - which had 50 more army divisions available after signing a separate peace treaty that ended Russia's involvement in the war - launched a push in France to defeat the British and French before US forces could fully deploy.German successes meant the Americans were soon in the thick of the fighting. On May 28, they went on the offensive and retook lost territory at the <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-troops-score-victory-at-cantigny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Battle of Cantigny</a> - the first major American battle of the war.But the Germans were still advancing elsewhere. By June 1, they were locked in battle with French and American forces at the town of Château-Thierry and were moving toward Belleau Wood.Desperate to stop the German advance, the Allies sent the US Army's 2nd Infantry Division, which included the 4th Marine Brigade, to hold the line.The Marines' orders were clear: "No retirement will be thought of on any pretext whatsoever."<h2>'Retreat, Hell!'</h2><div type="image" title="US military officer Belleau Wood France during WWI" height="1500" width="2000" msid="83931244" hostid="261"></div>Despite facing five German Army divisions, the Marines were determined to hold. When they reached the battlefield just outside Belleau Wood, retreating French soldiers advised them to retreat as well. Capt. Lloyd Williams responded with the now-famous line, "Retreat, Hell! We just got here!"For five days, the Marines repelled German attacks on their lines outside the woods, due in large part to expert Marine marksmanship. On June 6, the Marines went on the offensive, charging German positions inside the woods.The assault was brutal. German machine guns mowed down the Marines. It was here that acclaimed Marine <a href="https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Information-for-Units/Medal-of-Honor-Recipients-By-Unit/Sergeant-Major-Daniel-J-Daly/" target="_top">Dan Daly</a>, then a first sergeant, rallied his men for a charge by saying, "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"By the end of the day, the Marines at Belleau Wood had taken more casualties than in all previous battles in Marine Corps history. They were unable to dislodge the Germans from the woods but took the neighboring town of Bouresches after house-to-house fighting.The battle then descended into a brutal slog, as the Marines forced their way through the woods. The Germans made numerous counterattacks, and assaults often descended into hand-to-hand fighting. German artillery also used poison gas to try to halt the Marine advance.On June 11, Williams was killed by artillery fire after being wounded in an attack. He reportedly told the medics, "Don't bother with me. Take care of my good men."Marine displays of courage were common at Belleau Wood. Gunnery Sgt. <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-people/j/janson-ernest-a/nh-105318.html" target="_top">Ernest Janson</a> received the <keyword id="1840500" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Medal-of-Honor">Medal of Honor</keyword> for single-handedly repelling 12 advancing Germans by charging and bayonetting two of them. Gunnery Sgt. <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/brandavestudios/sponsored/gunnery-sergeant-fred-w-stockham-sacrificed-all-for-his-men/article_8c1c9770-6ce3-11e9-a952-f74eb6c2bcc7.html" target="_top">Fred Stockton</a> received the Medal of Honor posthumously after he gave a wounded comrade his own gas mask during a gas attack.On June 26, after a 14-hour artillery barrage and a final assault, the Marines finally drove the Germans out and secured the woods.<h2>A lasting legacy</h2><div type="image" title="WWI Marine Devil Dog recruiting poster" height="1223" width="833" msid="83931247" hostid="261"></div>Of the 1,811 Americans killed at the battle, about 1,062 were Marines. Around 3,615 of the roughly 7,000 American wounded were Marines as well. The Germans are believed to have had over 9,000 casualties.The French government later renamed the woods "Bois de la Brigade de Marine," meaning "Wood of the Marine Brigade," and awarded the Marine units involved the Croix de Guerre and the right to wear a fourragère, a braided cord denoting distinguished conduct.The battle was a baptism by fire for the Marine Corps, which now had a core cadre of officers and enlisted men with a full understanding of modern warfare.They were what would be known as the "Old Breed" in the Corps. Five future commandants - John Lejeune, Clifton Cates, Lemuel Shepherd Jr., Wendell Neville, and Thomas Holcomb - saw action at Belleau Wood, as did a number of future high-ranking Marines who had important roles in World War II.After the battle, the Marines were called "<keyword id="11531308" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="devil-dogs">Devil Dogs</keyword>," which German soldiers supposedly called them during the battle. The actual origin <a href="https://www.stripes.com/blogs-archive/the-rumor-doctor/the-rumor-doctor-1.104348/did-marines-not-german-soldiers-coin-the-phrase-devil-dogs-1.130602#.YNQNTWhKg2w" target="_top">is disputed</a>, but the nickname has stuck.The toll at Belleau Wood was highest in Marine Corps history until <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/76-years-after-wwii-battle-tarawa-marines-still-being-identified-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Battle of Tarawa in 1943</a> and then <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battles-of-iwo-jima-okinawa-made-us-reconsider-japan-invasion-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iwo Jima in 1945</a>, which remains the Corps' bloodiest battle.

Why the Marines' first battle in Europe still influences the Corps a century later

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Britain's <keyword id="12466153" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="royal-marines" source="Orion">Royal Marines</keyword> got some unexpect attention this fall after reports they had "defeated" US <keyword id="11940055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="marines" source="Orion">Marines</keyword> in an exercise.</li></ul>In October, an exercise in the California desert involving marine forces from across NATO spurred some unintended drama when <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/02/royal-marines-force-us-troops-surrender-just-hours-training/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> surfaced about the swift defeat of US Marines at the hands of their British counterparts.Exercise Green Dagger is an annual large-scale force-on-force training event that seeks to prepare <keyword id="11940053" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="us-marine-corps" source="Orion">US Marine Corps</keyword> units for upcoming deployments to combat zones or volatile regions.Marines from the US, UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates "fought" against one another in mock combat drills. During one five-day event, the Royal Marines Commandos defeated their American counterparts despite having smaller numbers.While many <a href="https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1456030139171618820" target="_top">have disputed</a> those reports, they have highlighted the skills and capabilities of both forces. Here's how they stack up.<h2>Royal Marines Commandos</h2><div type="image" title="British Royal Marines during exercise" height="1250" width="2000" msid="88127075" hostid="261"></div>The Royal Marines Commandos are a very interesting unit when it comes to classification. For centuries they served as naval infantry, sailing on Royal Navy ships and fighting on sea and land, in addition to being the troops responsible for enforcing discipline on the British navy.After the Napoleonic Wars and the British navy's rise to dominance of the seas, the Royal Marines increasingly deployed on land as a naval infantry force. By World War I, they were fighting in the trenches alongside regular infantry units.It was during World War II that the Royal Marines first entered the special-operations realm. After Germany swept across Europe, the British stood up commando units to take the fight to the continent and keep the Germans on edge.<div type="image" title="British Royal Marines carry casualty on stretcher" height="1848" width="2768" msid="88127076" hostid="261"></div>Initially, the "Commandos," as the units themselves were called, were composed of British Army soldiers and volunteers from many countries that had surrendered to the Nazis.In 1942, the Royal Marines created their own commando units and added the coveted "Commando" designation to their title. They specialized in amphibious operations against Axis forces in occupied Europe and the Pacific theater throughout the war.The Royal Marines Commando were the only "Commando" unit of the roughly 40 that existed during the war to survive the major demobilization that came after Germany and Japan surrendered.<h2>Similar but different</h2><div type="image" title="British Royal Marines and US Marines with Amphibious Combat Vehicle" height="1333" width="2000" msid="88127077" hostid="261"></div>While the US and British forces are similar as marines, comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges.Whereas the US Marine Corps is a combined warfare force that can conduct expeditionary campaigns, the Royal Marines Commandos are a much smaller, more specialized unit that has served as a quick-reaction force of sorts for the UK.The US Marine Corps has about 200,000 troops and more than 1,000 fighter jets and helicopters and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marine-corps-force-redesign-means-taking-tanks-from-norway-caves-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">until recently operated its own tank fleet</a>. In contrast, the Royal Marines Commandos field less than 8,000 troops total, only half of them being line infantry. The British Marines have no armor or fighter jets of their own.Indeed, in terms of capabilities, training, selection, and mission, it would be more fair to compare the Royal Marines with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-messy-way-the-marines-joined-us-special-operations-command-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the special-operations units of the US Marine Corps</a> — the Marine Raiders, Recon Marines, and Force Recon Marines.Even with differences in size and capabilities, both forces have illustrious combat histories.<div type="image" title="US Marines land at Inchon" height="1499" width="1998" msid="88127079" hostid="261"></div>The US Marines have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-some-of-the-most-iconic-battles-the-us-marines-ever-fought-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distinguished themselves in several wars</a>.Some of their most well-known actions are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/belleau-wood-first-marine-battle-in-europe-still-influences-corps-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Battle of Belleau Wood</a> during World War I, the battles of the Pacific campaign that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/76-years-after-wwii-battle-tarawa-marines-still-being-identified-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led the Allies to Japan's doorstep</a> during World War II, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/korean-war-battle-chosin-reservoir-now-chinese-rallying-cry-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Battle of Chosin Reservoir</a> during the Korean War, and Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq war.The Royal Marines Commandos earned respect and accolades for their actions in several engagements during World War II, but perhaps their most important campaign was during <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sas-revisited-wwii-roots-in-daring-raid-during-falklands-war-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Falkland War</a>, when they marched across the rugged South Atlantic islands with full combat load — each troop carrying more than 100 pounds of gear — and defeated the Argentines in a series of brutal engagements.The Royal Marines Commandos are now entering a new phase as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-special-operations-changes-modeled-on-us-special-ops-units-2021-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British special-operations forces evolve</a> for a world in which potential near-peer warfare against Russia or China has replaced large-scale counterterrorism operations as the main concern.As part of that modernization, the Commandos are getting new weapons and gear in addition to restructuring into smaller, more agile units.<div type="image" title="British Royal Navy helicopter Marines Falklands War" height="1353" width="2000" msid="88127081" hostid="261"></div>"We've always been an elite force, but not many people outside the UK know about us. Our military is small compared to the Americans, and the Royals [Marines Commandos] are even a smaller part of that. But we're the fellas you want in a trench when the going gets tough," a former <keyword id="12682093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="special-boat-service" source="Orion">Special Boat Service</keyword> operator told Insider.The SBS was for decades <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-british-sbs-commandos-train-to-recapture-hijacked-ships-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the tier 1 special-missions unit</a> of the Royal Marines, recruiting solely from the commandos. It was equivalent to the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group, which used to be called SEAL Team Six.Nowadays, however, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-non-us-special-operations-forces-from-around-the-world-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the SBS and the Special Air Service</a> (SAS), its Army counterpart, recruit from the wider British military. And like the Royal Marines, the SBS has always worked closely with their American counterparts."We have a close working relationship with the Americans, and we have frequent exchange programs, or at least we had back in my days," the former SBS frogman said. "How that works is usually one of our lads or an American getting seconded to the opposite number for a year or two and serves as a regular member of that team. They train, work, and deploy with them as part of the unit."Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.

Britain's Royal Marines were 'victorious' in a mock desert battle with US Marines. Here's how the 2 forces stack up

<ul class="summary-list"><li>During <a href="https://www.insider.com/marine-corps-boot-camp-crucible-recruits-parris-island-gender-integrated-2021-2">The Crucible in the Marines Corps Boot Camp,</a> recruits are forced to face off against one another.</li><li>Monserat CarmonaCorrea was a unique recruit having fought as a semi-pro boxer before boot camp.</li><li>This event is meant to force recruits to learn to adapt to any situation.</li></ul>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>.- [drill instructor blows whistle] These recruits are 36 hours away from officially becoming United States Marines.Drill instructor: Finish her!Narrator: But to get there, they have to fight each other first.Drill instructor: Break his ribs!Narrator: Using hand-to-hand <keyword id="20628" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Combat">combat</keyword> in an event called the Battle of Belleau Wood.Drill instructor: Do you get nosebleeds a lot?Recruit: No, sir.Narrator: It's just one of several tests recruits complete during their final challenge of boot camp, a 54-hour gauntlet called the Crucible. [drill instructor blows whistle]Drill instructor: Winner! Loser! Get out!James Cimino: At some point, you need to engage the enemy. At some point, you are going to be face-to-face with somebody through all these conditions, and you're still going to have to be aggressive enough to win.Narrator: During boot camp, <keyword id="108651" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marine-Corps">Marine Corps</keyword> recruits learn 17 different fighting styles, from tae kwon do to Brazilian jujitsu, as part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, or MCMAP.Drill instructor: Strike harder! Narrator: Recruits learn techniques like hammer fists and delivering knees to the body when a fight has gone to the ground. And all of that comes to a head during the Battle of Belleau Wood, where they go toe-to-toe with their fellow recruits.Gregory Hopkins: Everything that takes place during the Crucible is considered a tactical evolution. When you break down the subcontext of what they're doing, they're either fighting for their lives or they're fighting to subdue someone else.Narrator: One recruit has a considerable advantage. My name is Monserat CarmonaCorrea, from Dallas, Texas.Narrator: Recruit CarmonaCorrea entered boot camp with the unique experience of a semipro <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword> career.Cimino: I have heard she has a wicked hook when it comes to sparring.CarmonaCorrea: I started when I was 15. My record's 13 fights, 11 wins, two losses. Out of the 11 wins, I have two knockouts. I'm trying to go to the Olympics and then eventually turn pro.Narrator: According to CarmonaCorrea, her training emphasizes body shots, uppercuts, and hooks.CarmonaCorrea: Yes. I take it more like playing around.CarmonaCorrea: Yes, sir.Narrator: Recruits face off in a structure known as the Octagon.Cimino: They'll have headgear, they'll have gloves, and they'll also be wearing a flak jacket.Regina Qiokata: I think it's meant to kind of get them prepared for any aspects of combat. You could be fighting an enemy that you don't really know anything about. Although they know each other and they're in a platoon together, there are still a lot of things they don't know about each other, their capabilities. I think this is a way to just kind of keep them on their toes and keep them cognizant of their actions or the other person's actions.CarmonaCorrea: The drill instructors, they always tell me to go hard and to keep punching.Narrator: Although recruits wear headgear, punches to the head are strictly prohibited. [instructor whistles]Drill instructor: Body shots! Body shots! Cimino: If I take a shot at your head, you might get a concussion, you might get knocked out, especially because I'm cold, I'm tired, I'm fatigued, so I'm much more susceptible to injuries. Narrator: Occasional accidents occur.Narrator: Medics stand by in case of injuries.Narrator: Finally, it's CarmonaCorrea's turn to enter the Octagon.Drill instructors: Body shot! Body shot! Body shot! Body shot!Drill instructor: Yes!Drill instructor: Body, body!Narrator: Recruits spar for about 60 seconds.Drill instructor: Get her, get her! Punch him!Narrator: The instructor judges the match on technique, effectiveness, and effort and then declares a winner and a loser.Drill instructor: Winner! Loser! Get out!Narrator: CarmonaCorrea, the winner, exits through a hatch labeled "DEVIL DOGS."Drill instructor: Winner, get out. Loser, get out.Narrator: While the loser is sent to the penalty box.Drill instructor: Full plank. Get your butt down. You get down.Recruit: Yes, ma'am.Instructor: You get down.Recruit: Yes, ma'am.Drill instructor: Your hands are shoulder width apart.Recruit: Yes, ma'am.Drill instructor: Your head is to the front.Recruit: Yes, ma'am.Drill instructor: Get up. Go away. Narrator: If the recruits aren't making a strong enough effort, they're both declared losers. [instructor whistles] Drill instructor: You both lose. Get out!Hopkins: I think about who wants it more, who is willing to mentally push themselves and their bodies out of their comfort zone to accomplish a mission. And I think pushing through all that adversity to accomplish that is a perfect venue for those martial arts skills.Narrator: Having successfully completed the Battle of Belleau Wood, these recruits are now ready to conquer the remainder of the Crucible and become United States Marines.

How Marine Corps recruits test hand-to-hand combat skills during the Crucible at boot camp

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> described American Marines who lost their lives during a crucial <keyword id="69917" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="World-War-I">World War I</keyword> battle as "suckers" and "losers," <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlantic reported</a>.</li><li>"Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers," Trump reportedly told senior staff members before a scheduled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France to commemorate the centennial of the end of World War I.</li><li>In another conversation, the president called US Marines who were killed in the Battle of Belleau Wood "suckers" because they died, the report said.</li><li>He also didn't understand the significance of the battle and asked his advisers, "Who were the good guys in this war?" according to The Atlantic.</li><li>A White House official condemned The Atlantic's report and said these "accusations" were "false."</li></ul>President Donald Trump described American Marines who lost their lives during a crucial World War I battle as "suckers" and "losers," <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlantic reported on Thursday</a>.The president made the comments during a 2018 visit to Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, according to the report. He was scheduled to visit Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris that November, but the trip was ultimately canceled after Trump said "the helicopter couldn't fly" and that the Secret Service wouldn't drive him to the cemetery.However, The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote that neither of those statements were true. Instead, the US president didn't want to visit the site because he didn't want the rain to mess up his hair and didn't believe it was important to pay tribute to fallen American soldiers, The Atlantic reported, citing four people with direct knowledge of the situation."Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers," Trump told senior staff members the morning he was set to visit Aisne-Marne, The Atlantic reported. In another conversation, he called US marines who were killed in the Battle of Belleau Wood "suckers" because they died, the report said.The battle and the ground on which it was fought are widely revered as a crucial part of Marine Corps history. The site is where American forces and allies stopped the Germans from advancing toward Paris.But The Atlantic reported that Trump didn't understand its significance and asked advisers during his 2018 trip, "Who were the good guys in this war?" He also didn't understand why the US entered World War I to side with Allied forces, the report added.The president has repeatedly denigrated veterans since he launched his first campaign in summer 2015.Perhaps his most well-known target was Sen. John McCain of Arizona. McCain was a US Navy fighter pilot who was captured and tortured by North Vietnamese forces for more than five years during the Vietnam War."He's not a war hero," Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of McCain in July 2015. "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."Last year, Trump appeared to imply that McCain was in hell during an appearance at the Faith and Freedom Coalition."We needed 60 votes and we had 51 votes," Trump said, referring to an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. "And sometimes, you know, we had a little hard time with a couple of them, right? Fortunately, they're gone now. They've gone on to greener pastures — or perhaps far less green pastures. But they're gone. I'm very happy they're gone."The commander in chief was referring to McCain, who made headlines in 2017 when he cast the deciding vote against Republicans' effort to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement. Trump was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-and-john-mccain-feud-comments-2019-3">confident</a> that McCain was not admired by his supporters and that there would be no lasting consequences for his remarks, a senior official told The Washington Post in 2019.A White House official condemned The Atlantic's report and characterized it as fake news."Not a soul brave enough to put their name on any of these accusations," White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere tweeted Thursday evening. "That's because they are false. Just another anonymously sourced story meant to tear down a Commander-in-Chief who loves our military and has delivered on the promises he's made. What a disgrace!"The president often says he's done more for veterans than any of his predecessors. He's also falsely said <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/trump-veterans-choice-paula-reid/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than 150 times</a> that he engineered the passage of the Veterans Choice Act when, in fact, it was Obama who signed it into law in 2014.When a reporter challenged Trump on his claim during a news conference last month, the president refused to answer and abruptly walked out of the room.

Trump called US Marines who died during World War I 'losers' and 'suckers,' report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Democratic presidential nominee, Joe <keyword id="60973" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Biden">Biden</keyword>, issued a statement Thursday in response to a report that said President Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> described US troops who died in World War I as "losers."</li><li><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">The Atlantic published the article</a> earlier Thursday, in which multiple unnamed sources described private comments they said Trump made during a visit to France.</li><li>"If the revelations in today's Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the president of the United States," Biden said.</li></ul>The Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has joined the chorus of critics outraged at <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">a report in The Atlantic</a> indicating that President Donald Trump had described US troops who died in World War I as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-marines-died-wwi-losers-suckers-report-2020-9">"suckers " and "losers."</a>"If the revelations in today's Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the president of the United States," Biden said in a statement Thursday evening.<keyword id="1816953" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Atlantic">The Atlantic</keyword> article, published earlier Thursday, cited multiple unnamed sources familiar with comments Trump made in France in 2018.The morning he was set to visit the Aisne-Marne cemetery in France, the report said, Trump told senior staff members: "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." In another conversation, he was said to have called US Marines killed in the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood "suckers" because they died. The White House has denied the report, calling it "fake <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>."Biden, whose son Beau served in Iraq, said in his statement that he considered the protection of "generations of American troops" who "have shed blood around the world in defense of our freedoms and to protect US vital interests" to be the "one truly sacred obligation" of a president."Duty, honor, country — those are the values that drive our service members," he said. "Those are the values that have formed the core of America's defense for centuries. And if I have the honor of serving as the next commander in chief, I will ensure that our American heroes know that I will have their back and honor their sacrifice — always."Biden's comments were more measured than some others'. Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said he was disappointed but not surprised."This is who he is," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/progressive-veteran-groups-trump-dead-soldiers-losers-report-2020-9">he said of Trump</a>. "#PresidentMayhem has no respect for anyone."<h2>Read Biden's full comments below:</h2><blockquote>"If the revelations in today's Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the president of the United States. I have long said that, as a nation, we have many obligations, but we only have one truly sacred obligation — to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way, and to care for them and their families, both while they are deployed and after they return home. That's the foundation of what Jill and I believe. It's why we've always prioritized the health and well-being of our service members, veterans, and military families. We've visited troops coming home wounded in Walter Reed. We've hosted wounded veterans in our home to share a Thanksgiving meal. And, as the proud parents of a son who served in Iraq, we've made supporting military spouses, caregivers, and children a focus of our service."Generations of American troops have shed blood around the world in defense of our freedoms and to protect US vital interests. From the frontlines of our own Revolution to Belleau Wood to the Normandy beaches to the mountains of Afghanistan, the sacrifice and bravery of our troops and their willingness to serve our nation should be honored. Duty, honor, country — those are the values that drive our service members. Those are the values that have formed the core of America's defense for centuries. And if I have the honor of serving as the next commander in chief, I will ensure that our American heroes know that I will have their back and honor their sacrifice — always."</blockquote><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-marines-died-wwi-losers-suckers-report-2020-9">Trump called US Marines who died during World War I 'losers' and 'suckers,' report says</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-didnt-want-wounded-veterans-military-parade-report-2020-9">Trump didn't want wounded veterans to attend a military parade because 'nobody wants to see that,' report says</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-call-republicans-mccain-bush-losers-military-service-report-2020-9">Trump reportedly called John McCain a 'f---ing loser' and said 'we're not going to support that loser's funeral'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-questioned-kellys-sons-sacrifice-on-memorial-day-grave-visit-2020-9">'I don't get it': Trump questioned why retired Gen. John Kelly's son gave his life fighting in Afghanistan on a Memorial Day visit to his grave</a></li></ul>

'We only have one truly sacred obligation': Biden goes on attack after report says Trump called dead US troops 'losers'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> denied having ever called Sen. <keyword id="27703" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="John-McCain">John McCain</keyword> of Arizona a "loser," despite having previously tweeted out a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> article that described him doing exactly that.</li><li>Trump denied <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">a report from The Atlantic</a> that said he called McCain and President George H.W. Bush losers.</li><li>Trump acknowledged on Twitter that he "was never a big fan" of McCain, who died in 2018, but said that despite their differences he had "never called John a loser."</li><li>In 2015, Trump tweeted a link to a political blog that quoted him calling McCain a loser.</li></ul>President Donald Trump on Thursday evening denied having ever called Sen. John McCain of Arizona a "loser," despite having previously tweeted out a news article that described him doing exactly that.Trump and his senior officials on Thursday attempted to deflect the blowback from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">an article published in The Atlantic</a> that quoted several unnamed sources who said the president had made disparaging remarks about US service members — including those who died in battle and those who went on to become notable politicians.The Atlantic's sources said Trump referred to McCain and President George H.W. Bush, two former US Navy fighter pilots, as "losers" for being shot down in battle.McCain's plane was shot down during the Vietnam War, leading to his capture and torture by North Vietnamese forces for more than five years. Bush's plane was shot down by Japanese forces during World War II. Trump himself received a deferral for service in Vietnam, saying he had bone spurs in his feet.The Atlantic also reported that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-call-republicans-mccain-bush-losers-military-service-report-2020-9">Trump was angry when McCain received half-staff flag honors</a> after dying of brain cancer in 2018. Trump was said to have told his staff of McCain: "We're not going to support that loser's funeral."Trump tweeted a response to the claims made in The Atlantic. He <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1301710818267074560?s=20">acknowledged</a> that he "was never a big fan" of McCain and that he "disagreed with him on many things." Still, he said, he "never called John a loser."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1301710816979357697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1301710818267074560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1301710819349204992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote>But Trump did <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/18/424169549/trump-lashes-out-at-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured">describe McCain</a> as a loser, citing his capture by enemy forces."I like people who weren't captured," Trump said at an Iowa summit during his presidential campaign in 2015, adding, "I don't like losers."On July 18, 2015, Trump also <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/622522682245033984?s=20">tweeted</a> a link to a political blog that quoted him at the same event."Via @fitsnews: 'Donald Trump: John McCain is 'A Loser,'" Trump said in a tweet with a link to the blog.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/622522682245033984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2015</a></blockquote>Trump also denied having disparaged US service members who were killed during World War I. The Atlantic reported that after calling off a 2018 trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris, Trump told senior staffers that the cemetery was "filled with losers" and that US Marines who died in the Battle of Belleau Wood were "suckers."<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-said-us-soldiers-injured-and-killed-in-war-were-losers-magazine-reports/2020/09/03/6e1725cc-ee35-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_trumpmilitary-1107pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans">Trump told reporters Thursday</a> that The Atlantic's sources were "lowlifes.""I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes," he said. "There is nobody that respects them more. So, I just think it's a horrible, horrible thing."The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said on Thursday that the president denied the allegations made in the report "in very emphatic terms," adding that, "He was more offended by them."Following The Atlantic's report, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-said-us-soldiers-injured-and-killed-in-war-were-losers-magazine-reports/2020/09/03/6e1725cc-ee35-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_trumpmilitary-1107pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans">The Washington Post also reported</a> that Trump frequently disparaged veterans and troops missing in action, also calling them "losers." Citing a former senior administration official, The Post reported that Trump told senior advisers he didn't understand why the military so valued finding missing troops. He said if they were captured, they deserved what they got, one source told The Post.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-response-trump-comment-calling-dead-troops-losers-report-2020-9">'We only have one truly sacred obligation': Biden hits back at Trump for reportedly calling dead US troops 'losers'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-marines-died-wwi-losers-suckers-report-2020-9">Trump called US Marines who died during World War I 'losers' and 'suckers,' report says</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/progressive-veteran-groups-trump-dead-soldiers-losers-report-2020-9">'This is who he is': Founder of veterans group blasts Trump for reportedly calling dead soldiers 'losers'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-call-republicans-mccain-bush-losers-military-service-report-2020-9">Trump reportedly called John McCain a 'f---ing loser' and said 'we're not going to support that loser's funeral'</a></li></ul>

Trump falsely claimed he never called John McCain a 'loser.' Just check his Twitter account.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bbe1e7598a1803c82298758-1200/3686629.jpg" border="0" alt="chesty xiv marine mascot" data-mce-source="US Marine Corps" data-mce-caption="U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Tyler Blattler, mascot handler, Marine Barracks Washington, escorts Cpl. Chesty XIV, official Marine Corps mascot, during an evening parade in Colonel Truman W. Crawford Hall at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., August 11, 2017." />US Marine CorpsUS Marine Corps Cpl. Tyler Blattler, mascot handler, Marine Barracks Washington, escorts Cpl. Chesty XIV, official Marine Corps mascot, during an evening parade in Colonel Truman W. Crawford Hall at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., August 11, 2017.</div></div></div>The US Marine Corps' adorable mascot, the English bulldog named Chesty XIV, <a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/08/24/beloved-marine-mascot-chesty-xiv-retires/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=ebb%2027.08.18&amp;utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief" target="_blank" rel="noopener">officially retired</a> in late August after five years of service. He was replaced by Chesty XV, who made his first official appearance at a Marine Barracks parade on Aug. 31. It's rather well-known that the Corps loves English bulldogs, but what's less well-known is why. It all traces back to the famous World War I Battle of Belleau Wood. The Marines took heavy casualties during the nearly month-long, grueling fight on the Western Front. But in the end, the Marines emerged victorious. Here's the story.

The Marine Corps just retired its 14th Chesty mascot - here's why the Corps loves English bulldogs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> questioned a Marine's sacrifice during a <keyword id="166945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Memorial-Day">Memorial Day</keyword> visit to his grave with the man's father, The Atlantic reported Thursday.</li><li>"I don't get it. What was in it for them?" Trump was said to have asked retired Marine Corps Gen. <keyword id="264467" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="John-Kelly">John Kelly</keyword>, who later became Trump's chief of staff, as the two stood beside 1st Lt. <keyword id="271720" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robert-Kelly">Robert Kelly</keyword>'s grave at <keyword id="1376838" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Arlington-National-Cemetery">Arlington National Cemetery</keyword> in 2017.</li><li>One of Kelly's friends who is a retired four-star general told The Atlantic that Trump "can't fathom the idea of doing something for someone other than himself."</li><li>The White House responded to the Atlantic story almost immediately, criticizing it as "just another anonymously sourced story meant to tear down a Commander-in-Chief who loves our military."</li></ul>President Donald Trump openly questioned the point of a young Marine's sacrifice during a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery with his father, retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">The Atlantic reported Thursday</a>, citing multiple sources.Kelly's son 1st Lt. Robert Kelly was killed while on patrol in Afghanistan in 2010. "Robert was killed in action protecting our country, its people, and its values from a terrible and relentless enemy," Kelly wrote after his son's death.When Trump and Kelly, who served as secretary of homeland security before becoming the White House chief of staff, visited Arlington on Memorial Day in 2017, the two men stopped at Robert Kelly's grave. Standing there, Trump reportedly turned to Kelly and said: "I don't get it. What was in it for them?"Kelly declined to comment on the story to The Atlantic, but <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">people close to the retired general said</a> that he first thought the president was awkwardly commenting on the selflessness of America's service members, particularly those who laid down their lives, but later came to believe that Trump did not understand sacrificing for others.One of Kelly's friends who is a retired four-star general <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">told The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg</a> that the president "can't fathom the idea of doing something for someone other than himself.""He just thinks that anyone who does anything when there's no direct personal gain to be had is a sucker," the unnamed general said. "There's no money in serving the nation.""Trump can't imagine anyone else's pain," the person said. "That's why he would say this to the father of a fallen Marine on Memorial Day in the cemetery where he's buried."Phillip Carter, a professor who is a US Army veteran, responded to the Atlantic article on Twitter, writing that a president who asked what Trump was said to have asked in a place like Arlington was not suited to be commander in chief.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Phillip Carter (@Carter_PE) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1301660273619750926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2020</a></blockquote><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/">The Atlantic also reported that Trump objected to visiting</a> the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 because he did not see the point in honoring the fallen. He reportedly asked: "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." He was also said to be worried about his hair getting messed up in the rain.On that trip, he also was said to have called the Marines who died at Belleau Wood, one of the toughest battles for the Marines in World War I, "suckers" because they were killed in combat.That same year, as Trump made plans for a military parade, The Atlantic said, he also asked his staff to keep wounded veterans out of any possible event, reportedly telling them "nobody wants to see that."The White House immediately criticized the article in The Atlantic."Not a soul brave enough to put their name on any of these accusations," the White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere <a href="https://twitter.com/JuddPDeere45/status/1301644886115057665">tweeted in response</a>. "That's because they are false. Just another anonymously sourced story meant to tear down a Commander-in-Chief who loves our military and has delivered on the promises he's made. What a disgrace!"

'I don't get it': Trump said to have questioned why retired Gen. John Kelly's son fought in Afghanistan — during a Memorial Day visit to his grave

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In August 2019, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. <keyword id="1633115" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="David-Berger">David Berger</keyword> published his Commandant's Planning Guidance, detailing a dramatic shift in the Marine Corps' force structure.</li><li>It positions the Marines to take on <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>, but it also makes a subversive proposal to take on a sophisticated rival with cheaper capabilities than what the other branches are pursuing.</li></ul>US Marine officers are notoriously dismissive of those who talk about strategy. "Strategy?" a Marine who served in Vietnam says. "Here was our strategy: hey-diddle-diddle, straight-up-the-middle."The description rings true: The Marine Corps' most famous fights were straight-ahead affairs that gave the Corps its most celebrated moments: at Belleau Wood (in World War I), at Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa (in World War II), at Inchon (during Korea), at Hue (in Vietnam) and, most recently during the battles for Fallujah, back in 2004. Now, it seems, all of that is changing.In August of last year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger published his Commandant's Planning Guidance, a detailed recasting of the Marine Corps' force structure.By any measure, Berger's guidance marked a breathtaking shift away from the service's urban combat focus and its follow-on mandate of "countering violent extremists in the Middle East" to a "great power/peer level competition, with special emphasis on the Indo Pacific…"<div type="image" title="US Marine Corps Marines amphibious assault KAMANDAG Philippines" height="933" width="1400" msid="78864292" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://mca-marines.org/call-to-action-commandants-planning-guidance/">The shift, Berger admits, is sweeping</a>: "from inland to littoral, and from non-state actor to peer competitor." The guidance reduces tank companies (from 7 to 0), artillery batteries (from 21 to 5), infantry battalions (from 24 to 21), amphibious vehicle companies (from 6 to 4), helicopter attack squadrons (from 7 to 5), and the number of F-35Bs in its air squadrons.The guidance eliminates law enforcement battalions and bridging companies. And the force itself will be cut by some 12,000 personnel over a period of 10 years. More simply: Berger's guidance ("to be clear, it's not really a new strategy," <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2019/12/notes-on-designing-the-marine-corps-of-the-future/">one senior Marine officer notes</a>, "it's more like a new operational concept") cuts structure in favor of adopting "long range precision fires, advanced reconnaissance capabilities, unmanned systems and resilient networks."The shift is here to stay: Berger clamped a non-disclosure requirement on participants in the wargames that led to the rethinking and, just last week, <a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/10/08/corps-cancels-dense-urban-warfare-experiment-to-focus-on-marine-littoral-regiment/">cancelled</a> the "Metropolis II" exercise testing tactics the Marines would adopt to fight in cities. Instead, the service <a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/09/22/corps-to-begin-3-year-marine-littoral-regiment-experiment-using-hawaii-marines/">will focus on building a new Marine Littoral Regiment (an MLR)</a> that would allow it to operate on small atolls and islands against a projected threat in the Pacific — read: China.Berger's new MLR is billed as "dispersed, agile and constantly relocating" (a combat team, a logistics element and an anti-air battalion), and delivered to the battleground by a <a href="https://news.usni.org/2020/02/20/navy-researching-new-class-of-medium-amphibious-ship-new-logistics-ships">yet-to-be-designed class of amphibious ships</a>. Dispersed and agile? For Berger's critics, the MLR looks more like a Navy landing party (of some 1800 swabees) than an all-arms 3600 trooper Marine regiment of hardcore fighters. Berger would almost certainly reject the claim, but his guidance ties his service more closely to the Navy than it has been since the Marines landed on Guadalcanal."During World War II, we as a Service, clearly understood that Marines operated in support of the Navy's sea control mission," the guidance argues. "In subsequent years, the luxury of presumptive maritime superiority deluded us into thinking the Navy existed to support 'Marine' operations ashore. That era was a historic anomaly, and we need to re-focus on how we will fulfill our mandate to support the fleet."<div type="image" title="USMC assault amphibious vehicle" height="3616" width="5424" msid="78864293" hostid="261"></div>Berger's guidance earned initial praise, even from would-be detractors ("it's one of the most well-written documents to come out of the Pentagon in a long while," a US Army force planner admitted), as well as a host of respected military thinkers, including Dr. James Lacey, a former US infantry officer and director for War, Policy, and Strategy at the Marine Corps War College. "I think Berger has boldly taken the Corps in a direction it must go as we reenter a period of great state competition," he wrote in an email.More crucially, Chris Brose, the former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee — whose questions to the services in 2018 helped to fuel Berger's thinking — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-marines-have-set-the-bar-for-reform-can-the-rest-of-the-military-follow/2019/08/08/21b47d5e-ba1c-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html">told columnist David Ignatius</a> that the new Marine guidance "looks reality in the face and says we've got to make changes. He doesn't hedge, he doesn't fudge. He makes choices. He's thrown down the gauntlet for the other services."Not everyone agrees. An early and outspoken critic of Berger was James Webb, a former Marine Corps officer, Vietnam veteran and secretary of the Navy.For Webb, the Berger guidance reads like a pointy-headed powerpoint presentation cooked up by draft dodging Marine Corps wannabes: "Interestingly, when citing his philosophical inspiration at the outset of his proposal, General Berger chose to ignore two centuries of innovation and ground-breaking role models who guided the Marine Corps through some of its most difficult challenges," Webb wrote in a much-circulated article in The National Interest. "The giants of the past — John LeJeune, Arthur Vandegrift, Clifton Cates, Robert Barrow and Al Gray, just for starters — were passed over, in favor of a quote from a professor at the Harvard Business School who never served. Many Marines, past and present, <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/feature/future-us-marine-corps-152606">view this gesture as a symbolic putdown</a> of the Corps' respected leadership methods and the historic results they have obtained."Webb's critique is echoed by other experts, including Dr. Williamson "Wick" Murray, one of the nation's most respected defense thinkers."The Marines are the most intellectual of all services," Murray told me in an extensive telephone interview, "so I'm a little surprised that the guidance leaves so many unanswered questions. It goes too far in stripping out capabilities, lacks important details on how these capabilities will be replaced and doesn't provide strategic solutions to strategic challenges. This guidance needs to be more nuanced and more flexible. It's not. It puts everything on the table for countering China, but if history teaches us anything it's that the enemy you get is rarely the one you plan for."Murray also notes the unease that greeted the guidance from the US Navy. "The big assumption here is that the Navy wants to cooperate, that it'll be a willing partner. Maybe: but its yet to be seen whether they're capable of taking this on."A senior US Navy strategist, speaking on background because of the sensitivity of the topic, agrees: "The Navy has largely ignored strategy and focused on what to buy and how to buy it, then figuring out how to use what they have." Which is to say that the Navy leadership seems strangely out of touch with what Berger is doing — a kind of hey-diddle-diddle-let's-buy-more-ships focus that retains its legacy platforms (Berger dubs them "large ships" — like aircraft carriers — "with large electronic, acoustic, or optical signatures") at the same time that the Marines are shedding theirs.<div type="image" title="Marine Corps commandant David Berger" height="933" width="1400" msid="78864294" hostid="261"></div>That the Navy seems relatively clueless is something of a surprise, since the Navy that was one of the first services to pivot to Asia.In 2010, Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, and Gen. Norton Schwartz, the head of the Air Force, signed a classified memorandum directing their services to develop "AirSea Battle" — a new operational concept designed to overcome China's development of anti-access and area denial weapons. The idea was to find ways to preserve the US military's access to the Western Pacific."The Air Force and Navy arrived, almost simultaneously, at the same 'aha' moment," defense intellectual and Navy expert Bryan McGrath told me in 2015. "They saw that there was a power rising that could challenge what each of them do best. For the Navy, that's power projection — and for the Air Force, that's air power. And for decades, neither of those battle spaces was in jeopardy. But suddenly, with what China was doing, that was no longer true. Suddenly, there was a power in the Pacific that was going to challenge the way they fight."Retired US Army Colonel Kevin Benson, one of his service's premier thinkers, puts it this way: "Close combat is a thing of the past," he says. "If the enemy knows where you are, he can kill you. We live in an era of hypersonic weapons and satellite-linked units. So you have to get under that umbrella, you have to look for a seam in his defenses, or you have to create one. You have to put more fire on the bad guy faster than he can respond. Berger's guidance is incomplete, but that's what he's trying to do."Berger's thinking reflects this reality. "The rapid expansion of China's area-denial capabilities, coupled with its pivot to the sea . . . have fundamentally transformed the environment in which the U.S. military will operate for the foreseeable future," Berger wrote in an article in War on the Rocks last December. "For the first time in a generation, sea control is no longer the unquestioned prerogative of the United States."To counter this,<a href="https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/01/29/new-corps-formation-marine-littoral-regiment-may-be-how-the-corps-fights-future-battles/"> the Marines will deploy</a> "low cost, lethal air and ground unmanned platforms, unmanned long range surface and subsurface vehicles, mobile, rapidly deployable rocket systems, long range precision fires, loitering munitions… mobile air defense and counter-precision guided munitions capabilities, signature management, electronic warfare and expeditionary airfields."<div type="image" title="Marine Corps RQ-21 Australia" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78864295" hostid="261"></div>But while Berger's focus is on China, some Pentagon officials suspect that other realities are driving his thinking.Berger says as much one-third of the way through his guidance: "The principle challenge facing the Marine Corps today," he writes, "lies in continuing to fulfill its charter as the naval expeditionary force-in-readiness, while simultaneously modernizing the force … with potentially fewer Marines, and a possible reduction in total resources." Berger makes it clear that he's willing to "secure additional modernization dollars in exchange for force structure …" — another way of saying that the Marines are willing to live with fewer numbers so long as they get new weapons.In truth, the Marines may not have a choice: Pentagon officials concede that the services are entering an era of flatline or even plunging budget authorizations at the same time that they're having difficulty signing up and retaining new recruits. It's easy to say you're going to have fewer Marines when no one is showing up at your recruiting stations. Among Berger's critics are those who discuss his ideas while giving a wink-wink at this reality: The enemy the Marines are fighting isn't China, they say, it's the defense budget.But suggesting that it's the budget, and not China, that is behind Berger's thinking brings often angry responses from those paid to think about naval strategy."Usually when budgets flatline, services become conservative and double down on what they consider to be their 'core,'" the senior naval strategist to whom I spoke, says. "That's doesn't seem to be what the Marines are doing here ... This is really just the Marines figuring out how to do their job."Finally, the guidance's most outspoken critics, including one senior Marine who served in Afghanistan, point out that Berger plans to fight China with "units yet to be formed, transported on amphibious ships yet to be built, linked by networks yet to be developed and armed with anti-missile capabilities yet to be tested."The rejoinder from the Navy strategy expert with whom I spoke is pointed: "Does a lack of completed technology mean that you don't start pushing forward? The Marines worked on amphibious doctrine before the Higgins Boat was done [in World War II] and worked on helicopter doctrine way before they had helos with the range and capacity to actually do it. Working on the technology hasn't stopped the Marines before."<div type="image" title="Marine Corps Marines" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78864296" hostid="261"></div>Of course, there is also an unstated agenda here, as any number of Berger critics note.The new guidance positions the Marines as the lead service for the emergent and increasingly empowered China-is-the-enemy lobby. And while that view is far from an accepted fact, the guidance will help sell it. Or, to paraphrase one Asia expert: If you treat China like an enemy, and name them as an enemy, you're going to get what you ask for.It's a smart move for Berger and his service, but it's also transparent — and cynical: In an era of flatlining or eroding budget numbers, the Marines can not only claim to be "the first to fight"; they can claim to be the first in line to get the anti-China defense dollars. Which, presumably, is exactly where Berger wants them to be.If there is a bottom line here, it is that while Berger partisans argue that his guidance is "visionary, disruptive and transformational," his detractors use the same adjectives to highlight its weaknesses: It's too visionary, <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29608/marine-bosss-audacious-plan-to-transform-the-corps-by-giving-up-big-amphibious-ships">too disruptive and too transformational</a>.But it's also "subversive," as the Marine veteran of Afghanistan told me. "If Berger is right, if it's possible to do better with less, than why can't the Army, Navy and Air Force do the same?" he asks. "If Berger's planning guidance is the wave of the future, then why are the Army, Navy and Air Force stuck in the past?"Which suggests other, yet to be answered, questions: If aircraft carriers and other "expensive and exquisite capabilities" (as Berger describes them) are vulnerable, then why do we continue to build and deploy them?"The Navy, especially, needs to provide answers," this Marine says, "and the last time I checked, Berger's office was on the same corridor as the chief of naval operations. So if he really wants to know what the Navy thinks, all he has to do is walk down the hall and ask."

You Searched For "battle of belleau wood" and got 9 results

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Benjamin Brimelow

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How Marine Corps recruits test hand-to-hand combat skills during the Crucible at boot camp

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Trump called US Marines who died during World War I 'losers' and 'suckers,' report says

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'We only have one truly sacred obligation': Biden goes on attack after report says Trump called dead US troops 'losers'

Charles Davis

Trump falsely claimed he never called John McCain a 'loser.' Just check his Twitter account.

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The Marine Corps just retired its 14th Chesty mascot - here's why the Corps loves English bulldogs

Daniel Brown

'I don't get it': Trump said to have questioned why retired Gen. John Kelly's son fought in Afghanistan — during a Memorial Day visit to his grave

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The Marines Corps is rolling out a 'subversive' new strategy to take on China

Mark Perry, Responsible Statecraft