Marine Corps Ditching Tanks Altogether, Spurring Online Speculation

The world at large is changing, and changing rapidly.  We are in an exponential technological pattern at this point, having gone from horse-drawn carriages to self driving cars in a little over a century.

In the digital world, things are growing even faster, as we now communicate instantly and seamlessly around the globe.  It was only 35 years ago that we were still mailing letters to one another as our only means of written communication.

And, yes, the inevitability of innovation is unescapable, even for the US Marines. 

The end of the Marine Corps’ tank missions has officially begun.

Marines with 1st Tank Battalion recently watched the last of their unit’s tanks depart Twentynine Palms, California. Photos taken of the event show Marines surrounding an oversized flatbed as the tanks were loaded up onto the vehicle and driven away.

Less than two weeks later, Alpha Company, 4th Tank Battalion, held a deactivation ceremony at Camp Pendleton, California. The unit is the first of several companies with 4th Tanks facing deactivations this summer, Maj. Roger Hollenbeck, a spokesman for Marine Forces Reserve, said.

But why the change?

The changes are part of an aggressive plan the Marine Corps’ top general set in place earlier this year called Force Design 2030. The plan, leaders say, will set Marines up for future fights, defending ships while at sea and operating in hotly contested spots near the shore.