The Marine Corps went all in when the Pentagon identified China as the prime national- security challenge facing the US.
- To meet it, the Marines in 2020 proclaimed a thoroughgoing transformation. Under “Force Design 2030,” the Corps would do away with its tanks, make other cuts and devote fewer resources for its long-held mission as the nation’s premier crisis-response force.
- Instead, the focus would be on China, with small teams of missile-toting Marines hopping from island to island in the Western Pacific to attack the Chinese fleet in a conflict.