Gates Targeting Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle: He Might Want to Hold Off on Decision to Cut Marine Landing Craft from Military Budget

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in his sights for termination.  It’s a high speed landing craft/infantry carrier that will replace the much slower and lower performance Amphibious Assault Vehicle that has been around since the 1960s.

I think he should look at other programs to cut.

We might need to land the Marines along the Korean coast, like they did during the Korean War.  What if we need to land troops in Somolia, or Yemen, or Ivory Coast, or Iran, or Taiwan, or any of the coastal hotspots around the world? 

Chances are, if they have to repel a North Korean invasion of South Korea, most of South Korea will be overrun before we can get additional troops in there.  And if that were to come to pass, the North Koreans would be ready for an end-run this time.   They’ve got artillery all up and down their coastline now, as well as mobile artillery.  They didn’t have nearly as many guns in 1950.   Inchon was moderately defended, but the North Koreans still damaged two U.S. Navy cruisers and three destroyers with their coastal guns.

I really think the EFV should be spared; the Iraq War will be winding down in the next year; the military will save money by cutting out Iraq War funding in the future on the level that it has been at.

This is a program that should be spared for now.