Quote:
Originally Posted by DRG
I have no doubt that there will be a USMC warehouse somewhere that will have a couple dozen squired away " just in case"
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Barstow most likely.
But the problem isn't really the tanks themselves but people that know how to operate them effectively and the support (bridging, fuel, ect.) needed to make them useful.
Tanks have ALWAYS been viewed as primarily infantry support in the USMC not anti-armor. With the fancy new optics, drones, GPS, precision weapons, etc. in that role they can be pretty well replaced by other assets.
It's sort of a question if the increased use/cost of replacing precision munitions is offset by the money saved from disbanding the tanks.
And then there's the "minor" problem of what happens if the US can't seize/maintain air superiority. But such a situation would effect the US Army, and it's tanks, far more then the USMC.