Army Out, Marines In

If there is one easy to follow guideline governing American force deployment, it is probably this: the Marines go in first, and then the Army relieves them. That's what the Marines are trained for: rapid deployment and a quick, shocking, overwhelming attack capability. So when we see the Marines coming back in to replace the Army, I think it is safe to say that something is probably wrong:

The I Marine Expeditionary Force is replacing the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the country’s contentious An Anbar province. In the western portion, the Twentynine Palms, Calif.-based 7th Marine Regiment is replacing the Army’s 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is returning to its home in Fort Carson, Colo., this month.

The story does not add much information for analysis, but I don't think it takes much speculation to posit that the return of Marines likely means a strategy shifting back towards the Marines' great strength: violence of action. Though capable of a wide range of missions, the one in which the Marines really outshine the Army is in hunting and killing. That these units are being brought back to the most volatile areas is surely no coincidence.