Rethinking Force Design on the Midrats Podcast with General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.)
2030 is closer than you think
It has been a bit more than six years since then Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David Berger, USMC, initiated what became known as Force Design 2030 (now just known as Force Design). What followed was a controversial change to the structure of the United States Marine Corps intended to address the challenge posed by the People's Republic of China in the western Pacific.
Now more than halfway to the original 2030 target, and informed by events from Ukraine and Southwest Asia since 2020, both long-standing critics of the design and other voices are readdressing the changes—and the critique—to see if it remains the right path.
Joining the Midrats Podcast this Sunday from 5-6 PM Eastern will be General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.).
You can listen live at this link.
If you can’t catch us live or are reading this after the show, reload the substack page later Sunday night for the uploaded podcast audio.
General Zinni’s record of 35 years of service in uniform covers the breadth of service from the Vietnam War to his tour as Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) from 1997 to 2000.
Following his retirement from active duty, General Zinni continued to serve in senior diplomatic roles, including as the U.S. Special Envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority (2001–2003) and later as Special Envoy to Qatar (2017–2019).
He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Battle Ready (with Tom Clancy) and The Battle for Peace, as well as Leading the Charge and Before the First Shots Are Fired. Additionally, he continues working in academic positions and as a speaker on geopolitics, ethical leadership, and America’s role in the world.
I hope there is some discussion of the Gator Navy.
I cannot understand why we did not seize any of the island off the coast of Yemen or Iran during the most resent conflicts.
Do we even have an amphibious assault capability anymore or are the Marines just Army lite?
CDR, how about including a discussion about the reality of the U.S. in the western Pacific. The whole idea of Mahan's seapower theory/strategy being exclusively American has just changed because we don't have the capability to "enforce" it. China does and will be adopting Mahanian strategy in reverse. So, while we like to be optimists and believe a forward deployed Marine force will stop China expansionism, it's really a costly retreat-in-stages action from which the U.S. will eventually be forced out (because we will not be able to keep the military supply lines open among other things - think the Philippines and Corregidor).