marine corps:overview

(got no other ideas to write so here goes ...)


In military,marine corps is a military branch similar to ground force,usually connected to the navy.Historically it is assigned in a warship to fight piracy,mutiny and to fight in littoral area,as part of military campaign.Marine corps uses many of army tactics,but they have amphibious capability as an added advantage.Currently many country assigned their marine force as Rapid Deployment Force(RDF),which means they will be sent first to combat to secure the location/objective before other larger element of the military(usually the army) arrives.

Spain is the first country to have their own marine corps.Today,many major countries have their own marine corps,with size comes anywhere from a battalion(600 to 900 personnel) to several corps large.United States Marine Corps,USMC,is the biggest marine corps exists today,with over two hundred thousand personnel,complete with it's own mechanized/armor support,artillery support,amphibious ships and even fighter wing(which is composed of F/A-18C/D)Though smaller than it triservice counterpart(US army,US navy,US air force) and nominally under US navy(USN),it is practically a separate branch and it significantly eclipsing many of other countries' armed force in term of size and firepower.

Though marine corps has similar attributes to the ground force,it also has it's own uniqueness itself.It has amphibious capabilities,provided by LVTs and amphibious armoured vehicle,it's own set of doctrine(depending on the country itself).They also sometimes used different personal equipment set from their army counterparts.due to increased corrosion in salt water,the lightweight nature of rapid deployment itself,etc)

Marine corps usually paved way for a larger force to gain strategic advantage and ultimately accomplished their goal,like securing beaches from the enemy,gain control of key installation,etc.Such action can be seen in Pasific theatre in World War II(marine win battles,army wins the war).It regularly co-ordinates with other elements of the military to accomplish their objective.such as relying on the navy to provide amphibious capability and to soften the enemy's defensive line,air force to provide transport and cover from enemy aerial attack,and the army to give significant boost in ground firepower.

Royal Malaysian Marine Corps:possibilities?

With future acquisition of new MPSS(either LPD or the more fancy LHD),questions arise if Malaysia should,and would have its own marine corps.Some Asean countries also has marine corps in their armed forces and some people suggesting that Malaysia should also walk the same path.

Will we ever heard the word "SEMPER SETIA" being cried out loud? In author's opinion,perhaps not.The reason is simple;the necessities is just isn't there.

To further explain the statement:
-The nature of marine corps as an expeditionary force(or as intervention force) contradict with our defence policy,which is deterrence(which means our armed force is built to be defencive,rather than offencive)
-MAF size is quite modest.with just over one hundred thousand regular personnel in all branch of the armed force.New infrastructures for training and deployment need to be build to accommodate this newly formed marines.Marines don't grow on trees,and for starter the army would have to transfer it's meagre resource and personnel to establish the foundation of the marine corps.
-New system,which we have little to no experience to, need to be bought;amphibious artillery ,LVTs,amphibious armoured vehicles,perhaps even a hovercraft.
-The geographic of Malaysia renders the establishment of marine corps as a unnecessary.Malaysia is composed of 2 large chunk of land (the Peninsular States in the west,and Sabah/Sarawak in the east).Thus it is easier to build a base and move the fighting force on land,rather by the sea.
-Indonesia and the Philippines are archipelago countries,with many of its isles scattered in their realm.The only way to quickly(and efficiently) maneuver the fighting force in large number,complete with logistics is by amphibious method,thus justified the establishment of their marine corps.
-Malaysia also has Rapid Deployment Force of it's own:10th Brigade(para)
-Malaysia is a relatively peaceful country with no major armed conflict for over 2 decades(after them commie terrorist bastard surrendered in 1989).In contrast,Indonesia,Thailand and the Philippines are still dealing with insurgency to this day(Philippines with it's NPA and MNLF movement,Thailand with it's southern separatist and possible conflict with it's neighbours up north,and Indonesia is plagued with separatist movement up until recently,when peace agreement had been accomplished).

Though that does not means there is no rooms for marine corps in MAF;should they walk this path.The author only states his opinion and should be taken with a pinch of salt,whatever that supposed to mean.Who knows maybe we'll be hearing people shouting "SEMPER SETIA" in the future,should the necessities arise.

New MPSS for RMN?

Well I choose this topic as my first topic to be reviewed because RMN old LST already being written off due to fire onboard(RIP KD Inderapura).Nobody is going to weep to it(no casualties, government already decided to buy new one anyway,and it only gonna accelerate such acquisition,etc),not to mention that KD Inderapura is an old ship and deserve to be retired.And people are hyped about such procurement : D

Anyway,back to the topic,about future MPSS acquisition,among contender to the list include(pic shamelessly taken from internet thus I don't claim them myself):-

1-Dokdo Class LHD(South Korea)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_amphibious_assault_ship

2-Mistral class LHD(France)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_class_amphibious_assault_ship

3-Type071 LPD(China,as in PR China)




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_071

although budget constraint may force RMN to consider a cheaper alternative,such as Makassar-class LPD(Indonesia)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makassar_class_landing_platform_dock


It is tempting to opt for the cheapest option,but consider this;the ship is expected to be in service in at least 30 years without any hassle.Makassar class LPD,reportedly,is derived from civilian (a ferry) design.Type 071 is supposed to be cheaper than the other two option,but when buying Chinese equipment,we can learn from Thailand in this regard(their frigate that have been bought apparently has pretty much malfunction and needed extensive re-work).thus more money is wasted.

I personally prefer Dokdo than other option.It is cheaper than Mistral,yet can carry more helos/troops/equipment than type 071 and Makassar class.Acquiring Dokdo class LHD can also significantly expand RMN capabilites as well.However with current defence budget cut it might as well as good if we bought Makassar class as well(Makassar-class LPD pricetag is about RM70 million a piece.Dokdo Class LHD,on the other hand,cost about 1 billion Ringgit.Although smaller in size,we can acquire 5 or 6 of Makassar class LPD instead of one Dokdo LHD,which equally bolster RMN amphibious capabilities as well)

And,regardless of the type of vessel we'll buy,acquisition of such ship might paved way to the establishment of Malaysian marine corps.