The Marine Corps faces a difficult period of transition that will include shedding thousands of personnel per year, sharpening its role as a crisis-response force and preparing for expanded operations outside of Afghanistan. Commandant Gen. Jim Amos told members of Congress in mid-September that the Marine Corps has now developed a plan to reduce the active-duty force to 174,000 by the end of 2017 if the cuts known as sequestration remain in place. That’s 8,000 fewer personnel than previously planned, and 12,800 fewer than the 186,800 end strength that senior Marine officers advocated beginning in March 2011, after an extensive force structure review. That now may be a best-case scenario, too: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned last month that the service could bottom out at 150,000 Marines unless Congress acts. A 174,000-member Marine Corps is the “minimum acceptable” force, Amos said on Capitol Hill, adding that it would leave the service able to respond to only one major contingency. It will force broad slashes to the combat arms and aviation communities, requiring twice as many units to deactivate than first envisioned. Eleven combat arms battalions and 14 aviation squadrons will be cut, Amos said.
