1 00:00:01,110 --> 00:00:06,320 - Defense News is proudly sponsored  by Navy Federal Credit Union.   2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,400 If you're a member of our nation's  armed forces, the Department of Defense,   3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:14,080 or if your family is, we'd  be proud to serve you too. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:20,480 - [Andrea] On this edition of Defense News Weekly,  the arms race for hypersonics continues to build   5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:26,400 as Russia claims use of the weapons in Ukraine.  But as the US develops its own weapons questions   6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:32,320 arise about whether the military is taking the  right approach. We also get a firsthand look   7 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,600 at a new type of Marine training and how Corps  the is changing its enlisted command structure.   8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:44,400 Plus, the Czech Republic looks into expanding its  helicopter fleet. Find out what it plans to buy.   9 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:52,400 And new information on what caused a B-2 Spirit  Stealth Bomber to skid off a runway in fall 2021.   10 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:57,840 It's the latest in news and analysis from the  Pentagon to platoon. This is Defense News Weekly.   11 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:30,320 Welcome back to Defense News Weekly, I'm Andrea  Scott. For this week's news, we had straight over   12 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:36,640 to Daniel Woolfolk, who talked to reporter Stephan  Losey about the US strategy and hypersonic weapons   13 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:42,320 development. With Russian forces claiming to  have used the weapons and strikes in Ukraine,   14 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:47,640 the developing tech continues to demand  attention. Here's part of their conversation. 15 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:53,280 - The Russian military claims it has hit a  shopping mall with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile   16 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,520 on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv  because it had allegedly been used to store   17 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:03,760 rockets. Russian defense ministry spokesman  Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday   18 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:08,720 that Ukrainian forces were using the shopping  mall to store multiple launch rocket systems   19 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:14,160 and store ammunition used for shelling Russian  troops. General Konashenkov's claims could not be   20 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:19,120 independently verified. The Russian military also  said it will continue using its state-of-the-art   21 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:24,480 hypersonic missiles to hit targets in  Ukraine. Kinzhal was developed by Russia   22 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:31,120 in recent years and has a range of about 1,250  miles and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.   23 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:37,920 It's carried by custom redesigned Mig-31 Fighter  Jets. Konashenkov said the Kinzhal hypersonic   24 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:43,280 missile has quote "proven its efficiency in  destroying heavily fortified special facilities."   25 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,080 He added that a Kinzhal missile was used  earlier this month, they hit a Soviet-era   26 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:53,120 arsenal for storing missiles in the Carpathian  mountains. It was also used in a strike on a   27 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:59,600 fuel depot near the black sea, near the port of  Mykolaiv. Konashenkov noted that the Kinzhal was   28 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,480 used for these strikes due to its high kinetic  energy and its ability to penetrate defenses.   29 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:11,200 Konashenkov said that the Kinzhal missiles were  fired at a distance of more than 620 miles.   30 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,120 So where does the United States's  hypersonic missile development stand?   31 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,440 For that, we turned to Defense News  Air Warfare Reporter, Stephen Losey,   32 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:34,400 who joined us earlier for this week's actionable  intelligence. You've been covering hypersonic   33 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:40,560 weapons for quite some time. And recently you've  had a couple stories that really give a snapshot   34 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,240 of where the United States is in  its hypersonic weapons development.   35 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,240 And we'll go into that, but first, can you give  us a little bit of a summary for uninitiated   36 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:55,880 viewers of what a hypersonic weapon is compared  to say an intercontinental ballistic missile? 37 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:02,320 - Hypersonic mig weapons are a advanced  weapons capability that the United States,   38 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:07,360 as well as China and Russia, have been working on.  They can travel multiple times the speed of sound,   39 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,760 greater than mach 5, and they can  maneuver mid-flight. This makes them   40 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:16,880 capable of penetrating defenses and it's  a lot harder to track and shoot them down   41 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,920 than say a conventional ballistic missile,  which tends to follow a fixed parabolic track. 42 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:27,760 - And Stephen, hypersonic weapons are a  priority. And Congress brought in Pentagon   43 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:32,760 officials to talk about where they are as well  as members of industry. What did they hear? 44 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:39,520 - They heard from the defense industry, some of  their concerns about the multiple obstacles that   45 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:46,080 are still in the path for developing hypersonic  weapons. Things such as supply chain difficulties,   46 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:53,040 sluggish acquisition processes, a lack of  enough testing facilities, such as wind tunnels,   47 00:04:53,760 --> 00:05:01,040 things like that. And that's what the Pentagon  is gonna try to see if they can do something to   48 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:06,960 improve that, to try to speed up the process  of testing and developing hypersonic weapons. 49 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,040 - And you mentioned testing  and that's one speed bump   50 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,680 that everybody hit very  recently, was a failed test,   51 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,640 and what happened with that with regard to  the budget? How did that affect the budget? 52 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:23,360 - Yeah, the Air Force's primary hypersonic  weapon they're working on is called the ARRW,   53 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:30,320 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. It had a  couple of test last year, they all had problems   54 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:37,520 in the launching process. The Air Force is working  on trying to sort out, Lockheed Martin trying to   55 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:43,040 sort out what happened there. They're hoping to  do some testing. However, the repeated testing   56 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:50,400 failures and delays had a pretty serious budgetary  impact in the omnibus spending bill that Congress   57 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:58,160 passed earlier in March. Now the budget had  originally called for $161 million in procurement   58 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:06,240 funds to buy ARRW weapons. However, congressional  appropriators said that because of the testing   59 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,320 failures and delays in the ARRW program,  they struck those procurement funds entirely,   60 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,800 took half of it away entirely and put the other  half back in research development, testing,   61 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:24,080 and evaluation for the ARRW program. So Air  Force Secretary, Frank Kendall, who's raised some   62 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,800 very hard questions about the  hypersonic program in recent months   63 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:34,040 said after the release of that budget that  the ARRW program still has to prove itself. 64 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:39,600 - And there'll be surely years of  development in this and it seems   65 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,440 like all eyes are on China who's  developing hypersonic weapons.   66 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,240 Secretary Kendall did say something along the  lines of, 'Hey, we don't need to keep up with   67 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,480 the Joneses with what China's doing.' Tell  us a little bit about his thoughts there. 68 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:58,080 - That's right, Secretary Kendall is trying  to encourage the military and the defense   69 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:05,200 industry to take a very strategic look at  hypersonic weapons, what we would use them for,   70 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,840 and how the target set that the  United States might want to strike   71 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:16,320 differs from China. Now, Kendall points out that  right now hypersonic weapons are best suited to   72 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:22,720 striking fixed targets. For China, that might  mean shooting a hypersonic weapon at a United   73 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:28,400 States aircraft carrier while it's still  in port. United States, on the other hand,   74 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:33,680 is focused on trying to deter and defeat  aggression, which could conceivably be,   75 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,800 for example, Chinese ships heading towards Taiwan.  That's a moving target, that might not be the best   76 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:48,720 use of a hypersonic weapon is what Kendall is  wondering. And could the US hit those same targets   77 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:56,320 with a conventional weapon just as effectively,  but more cheaply, because hypersonic weapons are   78 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,160 considerably expensive. The US is  expecting to spend about 15 billion between   79 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:07,520 2015 and 2024. Some estimates they could  run about $100 million a shot. So there's   80 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,720 a lot of money that goes behind that  firepower and Secretary Kendall wants   81 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:20,160 the military to ask "Is this the best use  of our resources to pursue these weapons?" 82 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,920 - That's a lot going on with hypersonics,  Stephen. Thank you for joining us. 83 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,840 - Glad to be here. 84 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:36,480 -   85 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:42,640 The Czech Republic is planning to buy additional  UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters for its   86 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,880 military. As Russia's invasion of Ukraine  has demonstrated, the country's existing   87 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:53,520 fleet is quote "insufficient." That's according  to Defense Minister Jana Cernochova. Cernochova   88 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:57,600 added the Ministry of Defense has all the  prerequisites to catch up to the 2% of gross   89 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,840 domestic product spending which is part of NATO  member country's commitment to the alliance.   90 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,120 During her recent meeting with US Secretary  of Defense Lloyd Austin, Cernochova discussed   91 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:12,720 the ministry's interest in purchasing additional  choppers made by Bell Helicopter because she said,   92 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,360 it turns out the 12 machines the Czech military  will receive next year are insufficient, and   93 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:22,880 that's due to the situation in Ukraine. The number  of helicopters the Czech Republic aims to acquire   94 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:28,640 was not disclosed but local industry observers  expected Prague to purchase a further 12 helos   95 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:35,680 on top of its first order. In 2019, the Czech  government decided to buy eight UH-1Y Venom   96 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:43,040 and four AH-1Z Viper helos with related gear  and services under a deal worth about $645   97 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:48,480 million. We now know why a B-2 Spirit Stealth  Bomber skid off the runway in September.   98 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,520 The incident happened at Whiteman Air Force  Base, Missouri, and damaged the aircraft.   99 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,840 A recent Air Force global strike command  investigation showed that the bombers left main   100 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,560 landing gear collapse because it didn't provide  enough pressure to keep it in its locked position.   101 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,760 The springs hadn't been replaced in at least a  decade and perhaps never according to the report.   102 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,160 It should have been replaced every nine years.  Repair costs were estimated to be at at least   103 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:20,000 $10.1 million in the report, the final cost  could end up being much higher. The investigation   104 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,320 said engineers need to take a closer look for  internal structural damage to its left wing.   105 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,760 The publicly released report does not get specific  about the extent of the damage to the bomber's   106 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:34,640 highly delicate low observables stealth coating.  There were no injuries resulting from the landing.   107 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,160 The Air Force has 20 B-2s in its fleet,  which cost about $1.1 billion apiece.   108 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,240 The spirit of Georgia was the delivered  to Whiteman in December, 1995.   109 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,880 And around the world, Japan says Russian  amphibious ships transiting through a   110 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,840 narrow strait between its island could be  moving fresh forces from Russia's far east   111 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:59,520 to Ukraine, four landing ship tanks including  one with its tech full of military trucks   112 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,040 were seen sailing in the Pacific Ocean  westbound in the middle of last week.   113 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:08,800 That comes from an announcement by Japan's Defense  Ministry. The ships are traveling in two groups.   114 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:14,240 Photos released by the ministry showed the top  deck of one ship with at least 17 military trucks.   115 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:21,280 All four ships also have internal holds capable of  carrying various cargo or troops. Japanese media   116 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:25,760 reported the ministry believes the ships were  bringing additional units from Russia's far east   117 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:31,120 to shore up its forces involved in the invasion  of Ukraine. That claim was backed up by Ukraine's   118 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:36,560 own Defense Ministry. And that's it from around  the defense world. After the break, new training   119 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:41,840 for Marines under a new enlisted structure and  US troops make a visible presence in Romania. 120 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:43,252 - The military and defense market is constantly  evolving. Stay on top of the latest news with   121 00:11:43,252 --> 00:11:44,604 Sightline Media Group's life events. Continue  to learn, understand tools and technologies. 122 00:11:44,603 --> 00:11:45,114 - We're live. You're on in three-- 123 00:11:45,114 --> 00:11:46,361 - Defense, government, and industry leaders  come together for successful improving   124 00:11:46,361 --> 00:11:47,563 engaging events. You'll gain valuable  insight, get the chance to ask questions,   125 00:11:47,562 --> 00:11:48,658 all from the comfort of your own home  or office. Sign up for our events,   126 00:11:48,659 --> 00:11:49,515 newsletters, and receive alerts  for upcoming livestreams. 127 00:11:49,515 --> 00:11:54,720 - [Andrea] Welcome back. Over in Europe with  countries on NATO's Eastern edges uneasy   128 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,840 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US  forces have made an effort to train with them.   129 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:06,520 One of the more recent joint missions?  Romanian troops and the US 2nd Calvary Regimen. 130 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,520 - The US Army's 2nd Calvary regiment  recently sent about 800 soldiers to   131 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,360 Romania to train with local troops as  part of a show of force and respond to   132 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,360 Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine. The  American troops stationed in Vilseck,   133 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,800 Germany teamed up with the Romanian 9th mechanized  brigade for live fire and artillery exercises. 134 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:27,360 -   135 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,960 Troops did a variety of coordinated  movement and live fire exercises   136 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:32,720 and also flew joint training missions. 137 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,480 - We really just get a chance to learn a  lot from the Romanians and see how their   138 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:42,000 army operates and how it operates with ours and to  show like how well we can link in with each other   139 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,200 and do our jobs together  whenever NATO needs us to. 140 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,920 - The US has been repositioning  thousands of troops around NATO countries   141 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:55,360 that show support for the alliance following the  Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since February, more   142 00:13:55,360 --> 00:14:01,840 than 12,000 US forces have been put on heightened  alert for possible deployment as events developed. 143 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:07,760 - [Andrea] And back at home, the coast guard  returns to its regular schedule of harrowing   144 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:14,240 rescues caught on tape. This time, coasties from  the cutter Alex Haley hoisted an injured man from   145 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:21,440 a 260 foot fish processing boat in heavy seas near  the port of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian islands   146 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:27,440 chain of Alaska. After the successful extraction,  the man was flown to a nearby hospital for   147 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:34,320 treatment of serious foot injuries. And part of  the defensive weapons the US is sending to Ukraine   148 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:40,800 is now known to be the Switchblade drone. Smaller,  faster, and harder to spot than the Turkish TB-2   149 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,920 drones being used by Ukraine's forces, the  Switchblades could give them a new capability.   150 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:51,920 Known as a loitering munition, the lightweight  switchblades are single-use weapons fired from   151 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:57,920 a tube that hover over a target, then turn  themselves into a small warhead and drop on the   152 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:05,120 target Kamikaze-style. The Switchblade 300 model  weighs about five pounds, flies up to 15 minutes   153 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:10,720 at a time, and is designed to be carried in a  backpack, assisting small infantry units tracking   154 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:17,440 the Russians movements. The Switchblades 600 by  comparison weighs about 50 pounds, flies up to   155 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:24,160 40 minutes, and can target armored vehicles. And  that's it from around the military. When we come   156 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,960 back, tips on understanding the differences  between a credit card and a debit card.   157 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:42,240 Welcome back. On this edition of "Money Minute,"  Navy Federal Credit Union, Personal Finance   158 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,240 expert Jeanette Mack walks you through the  differences between credit and debit cards. 159 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:53,040 - According to the Census Bureau, over 70%  end of American households have credit cards   160 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,880 but debit card users greatly outnumber  credit card owners in the US.   161 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:01,600 It may be because younger consumers hold  misconceptions about credit cards versus debit.   162 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,640 It's important to know the difference so you can  use one or both to your best financial advantage.   163 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,800 Looking at them side by side, both will have  the logo of a major credit card company,   164 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,280 but difference is the debit card pulls funds  directly from your checking account to fulfill   165 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:20,000 the cost of your purchase immediately. Debit cards  may not help you build credit but they're cheaper   166 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:25,600 to use than credit cards having fewer fees and no  finance charges, and of course no ensuing debt.   167 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:29,760 While credit cards use funds borrowed from  the card issuer to fulfill your purchases,   168 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,840 giving you the buying power you need  with the flexibility to pay over time.   169 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,080 Credit cards do come with finance charges and  limitations on how much credit you can use,   170 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:42,720 but they're also a great way to earn rewards or  cashback for your purchases, making the most of   171 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:47,760 your money. And of course, credit cards help you  build your credit history. There's a need and room   172 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:52,480 in your wallet for both credit and debit. They're  excellent financial tools to have at the ready,   173 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,480 you just have to be smart and use each of them  in ways that are in your best interest always. 174 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:02,880 - Thanks, Jeanette, we'll see you next time. For  more around the clock coverage of military and   175 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:07,520 defense stories, head over to Army, Navy,  Air Force, and marinecorpstimes.com and   176 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:14,400 defensenews.com for the latest updates. And to get  a curated list of top in your inbox every weekday,   177 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,040 subscribe to our Early Bird Brief. And make  sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter,   178 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:25,520 and YouTube. After the break, new training  for Marines under a new enlisted structure,   179 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:31,840 and US troops make a visible presence in Romania.   180 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:42,400 Welcome back. The US military is all about  adaptation, and maybe no branch more so   181 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:47,840 than the Marines. Recently, reporter Philip  Athey got a firsthand look at some updated   182 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:53,840 structure and training changes the corps pushing  forward. He stopped by to tell us what he saw. 183 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,640 - Philip, you recently returned from West  Virginia where Marines were training with   184 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:01,760 a little bit of a different type  of battalion. Tell me about it. 185 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:08,160 - Basically the battalion's restructuring,  pushing the weapons company down to the   186 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:14,080 platoons. So they have antitank weapons, having  machine guns, mortars. It's also implying more   187 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:18,400 mature leadership to those companies so  that they can act better independently. 188 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,000 - So give us a snapshot of what an in  infantry battalion looks like right now,   189 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,320 where are the mortars?  Where are the squad weapons? 190 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,920 - Yeah, so in the Marine Corps, you  pretty much have three line companies,   191 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,880 those are just mostly made up of 0311s,  just standard riflemen. In addition to them,   192 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:37,280 you're gonna have a weapons company. That's  gonna have the mortars, that's gonna have   193 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,120 the antitank weapons, and that's gonna  have the heavy machine gun specialists.   194 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:45,200 Marines that are trained, they're infantrymen  trained specifically to use those weapons. 195 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,880 - You mentioned maturity, what  does that mean within a unit? 196 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,120 - They're pretty much changing the  command structures on the enlisted   197 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:57,760 side specifically. They are making squad  leaders, staff sergeants, previously they   198 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,600 were sergeants or even more junior. They're  making platoon sergeants, gunnery sergeants.   199 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,440 And they're making the senior enlisted advisor  at the company level, a master sergeant, whereas   200 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:12,000 before it was a gunnery sergeant. So basically  they're moving everyone down one leadership level. 201 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,880 - So essentially if you want the  next job up, you're gonna have   202 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,600 an additional stripe needed  for it then you do right now? 203 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:24,480 - Yes, and that that's caused some consternation  amongst the infantry in west side, especially   204 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:29,840 since when these guys were coming up, there  was a shortage of infantry leaders. So   205 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:35,440 a lot of the current squad of leaders  were squad leaders as lance corporals,   206 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,960 platoon sergeants as corporals, or even  lance corporals in some instances. And   207 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,560 now they're going back to what they were doing,  the same job they were doing about 10 years ago.   208 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,600 At the end of the day, they kind of  came around to the understanding that,   209 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:51,160 yes, I'm only operating a squad, but I still  have the trust that I had as a platoon sergeant. 210 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:58,000 - Did the end of our efforts in Afghanistan  prop this? Are they looking somewhere new? 211 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:04,480 - The Marine Corps in particular is the looking  at China and how to counteract and deter Chinese   212 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:09,920 aggression in the South China sea and in the  Pacific. And this force kind of sees it as   213 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:14,320 if we can have platoons led by gunnery sergeants,   214 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,760 or with the senior leadership  of the gunnery Sergeant,   215 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:25,200 they can go out and they can control a small  island, a toll in the south Pacific and with their   216 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:31,440 greater weapons from the weapons company have  greater effect on that area, protect, bring in   217 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,720 an antiship missile from themselves and then have  a platoon basically blocking off a giant sea lane. 218 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,760 - What did it look like to you in  West Virginia when they were training? 219 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,520 - It was a little bit colder in West Virginia  than they were used to down in North Carolina.   220 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:50,480 So there were some adjustments and some worries  there, but they were eager to go out and try   221 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:54,560 this new concept. This is one of their first  experiments where they're really getting to kind   222 00:20:54,560 --> 00:21:01,840 of sink down into those independent individually  operating roles and see how far they can go. 223 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:08,320 - And last I checked, West Virginia is a  landlocked state. Is this gonna be on the ground   224 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:13,600 changes or is this going to affect the way the  Marine Corps fights in the ocean and amphibiously? 225 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,040 - They were in the mountains of West Virginia,  they kind of notionally made that an island   226 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:22,000 and they surrounded it by notional water,  and then they were brought in on notional,   227 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:29,680 in V-22s that looked a lot like buses. So in  theory, they were training as if they were   228 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:35,280 part of that small island operating force, as  if they were operating on that small island.   229 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,440 But the Marine Corps does claim that  this will work in any battlefield. 230 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,160 - And now that they're not focusing so  much on counterinsurgency and they're,   231 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,600 as the Marine Corps has been saying for  a few years, getting back to their roots,   232 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,680 is the way the infantry fights  going to be a little bit different? 233 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,200 - The entire Marine Corps's focused  on getting that leading infantry man   234 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:58,240 whatever support he needs. And that's kind  of changing a little bit. Now, the infantry   235 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,200 is gonna be acting in a support role for the  Navy, for the rest of the joint force. They're   236 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:10,160 gonna be taking and holding lands, pinning down  the opposing Navy, and allowing Naval capital   237 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:15,920 ships to operate wherever they want freely.  And that's a bit of a role reversal for the   238 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:21,840 Marine Corps infantry. They are used to being  the main focus and now they're not. Again,   239 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:27,840 I talked to some Marines on the ground and they  said that that took a little adjusting to, but as   240 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,760 they've continued on in this experiment at the end  of the day, they're still doing infantry stuff. 241 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,960 - I see it as something that Marines  have been known to do really well.   242 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:36,720 Philip, thank you for joining us. 243 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:37,720 - Thank you. 244 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:43,040 - And that's all we have time for this week.  Please visit us on militarytimes.com and   245 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:53,840 defensenews.com for more coverage. Thank you  for joining us and we'll see you next week.