Instead of deactivating ships in the two remaining squadrons, we should consider rotating ships from Diego Garcia and Guam to ports in NATO member states in Northern Europe. This relocation and repositioning of ships would support a wider role for the Marine Corps in Northern Europe, allowing the U.S. Army to focus more on the countries bordering Russia to the south, including Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. Current plans for two ships to be loaded with Contingency Packages and stationed at Blount Island, Florida could be expanded to include ports in Northern Europe, which would provide an on-scene capability when a ship from Diego Garcia or Gaum has to return to Blount Island for its every three-year shipyard upkeep.

Marine Corps prepositioned stocks in the caves of northern Norway can also be exploited as an enhancement to maritime prepositioning supplies and equipment. Future plans for the Maritime Prepositioning Force should consider leveraging Norway prepositioning. The right mix of supplies and equipment in the caves could be an enhancement to maritime prepositioning, the objective being to sustain a Marine Air Ground Task Force during combat from the Baltic to the Arctic. The rotational relocation of some prepositioning ship from Diego Garcia and Guam to Northern Europe coupled with additional ships from Blount Island and better tailoring of the supplies and equipment prepositioned in Norway would provide Marines with the capability to rapidly deploy and sustain combat forces in Northern Europe. The Marine Corps would remain a key component of NATO’s strategy for deterrence and warfighting on its Northern flank, not just another service component in the Indo-Pacific region.

The United States requires a robust, flexible, and properly positioned Maritime Prepositioning Force for global response. Our national security demands no less. Instead of deactivating ships or placing them in a thirty, sixty, or more days state of readiness to deploy, we need to enhance the current capabilities by rethinking the possibilities. Close coordination with all theater combatant commanders is necessary before emasculating the Maritime Prepositioning Force or tossing it aside as a relic of the past. History informs us that this capability is well worth keeping and should only be modified to better meet Marine Corps global response requirements across the spectrum of conflict, not for budgetary reasons that will leave Marines at increased risk. You can’t throw rocks at an enemy. You need weapons, bullets, and sustainment.

David Henderson is a retired Marine Corps Lt. Colonel who spent over seven years as a Program Manager working with the Marine Corps on the Maritime Prepositioning Force and Norway Prepositioning Programs. His final position before retiring as a Government Contractor was Corporate Safety Officer for HMS Global Maritime, a 700-person ship, ferry, steamboat, High-Speed Craft, and Navy port operations company.

Image: DVIDS.