How do you feel about the deployment of U.S. Marines aboard the ships of our European allies?

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:15:09 -0400

Marines will soon head to sea aboard European ships.

Starting this fall, Marines will operate aboard NATO ships as the Corps seeks to fill gaps in sea-basing options in and around Europe. First up will be an Italian ship in September, followed by a British gator in November as Marines test what's called the Allied Maritime Basing Initiative.

During testing they'll board Spanish, French and Dutch ships, said Brig. Gen. Norm Cooling, the deputy commander of Marine Forces Europe and Africa, although details are still being hashed out.

"They all have ships that could potentially carry an alert force with an Osprey," he said.

The main goal is to devise plans to better offset the Navy and Marine Corps' amphibious ship shortage that Cooling said has limited Marines' ability to quickly respond to crises in Europe and Africa.

Placing Marines aboard NATO allies' ships will not only allow them to reach flashpoints faster, but will reassure European partners that the U.S. is close at hand to counter Russian saber-rattling.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/06/14/marine-amphibious-force-to-operate-off-foreign-ships/28707497/

Marines to deploy aboard European allies' ships

The Marine Corps will station an amphibious force aboard foreign ships in the European and African area of operations this fall during exercise

Response by PO3 David Fries made Jun 14 at 2015 1:18 PM

PO3 David Fries — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:18:09 -0400

Cross training is always a good thing. It will be good to work with other units.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jun 14 at 2015 1:20 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:20:31 -0400

How is this different than having a Marine Detachment located on a foreign military base? In this case the "base" just moves around.

Unless there is actual Operational Control (OpCon) by UN or Foreign Commanders, as opposed to a "Tenant" relationship, I can't see any real issues. I'm sure any of those issues will be very tightly coordinated though as part of a SOFA agreement/addendum though. I believe we already do similar things with foreign officers serving on our naval vessels (limited capacity).

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Jun 14 at 2015 1:27 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 13:27:57 -0400

good, we can teach them how it's done.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jun 14 at 2015 2:01 PM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 14:01:40 -0400

I would think they would be worried the Marines might break their ships!

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jun 14 at 2015 3:51 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 15:51:27 -0400

Why not? We can all learn from each other.

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Jun 14 at 2015 4:16 PM

SSgt Charles Edwards — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 16:16:14 -0400

Why not? We practically work with our foreign allies on land in deployed locations (and sometimes at home) so this is just another means of fostering a working relationship to preserve peace in the world.

Response by MSgt Manuel Diaz made Jun 14 at 2015 5:48 PM

MSgt Manuel Diaz — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 17:48:28 -0400

Well I can see communicating may be an issue, are the marine's gonna be abused by European countries that dislike Americans and used only for dirty work where casualties can be the highest or for backup like the U.S. Calvary saving their asses when they screw up. I don't like the idea at all. The marines are better off illegally holding umbrellas for the potus... but maybe it will keep an edge on their bayonets

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 14 at 2015 6:42 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 18:42:02 -0400

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/mar/29/karl-rove/karl-rove-says-american-troops-have-never-been-und/

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 14 at 2015 7:39 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 19:39:11 -0400

Joint international training with our allies could be a good opportunity and be the tie breaker on promotion boards for those able to participate in it.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Jun 14 at 2015 8:25 PM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 20:25:14 -0400

If our allies are just driving the bus, so to speak, and have no operational control over them I see no problem.

Response by SSgt Matthew Lopez made Jun 23 at 2015 7:04 PM

SSgt Matthew Lopez — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:04:01 -0400

I can see a lot of red tape getting thrown into the mix between Orders coming down from U.S. command and Orders coming from owning ships command.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Jun 23 at 2015 8:36 PM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 20:36:52 -0400

This is heartbreaking. Has the Navy been reduced to that degree?

Response by GySgt Jim Bishop made Jul 6 at 2015 11:09 AM

GySgt Jim Bishop — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 11:09:43 -0400

Once again, it's always send in the Marines!