Lt. Gen. David Berger, head of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the service branch needs new amphibious ships to support future war at sea, Military.com reported Wednesday. Berger, recently tapped to be the next commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a recent meeting in Congress that the service lacks the vital ships needed for large operations.
He cited maintenance work suspended operations of some of its aging vessels. The general called on defense leaders to help the Marine Corps get new ships with modern command-and-control and offensive systems to replace legacy-class amphibious ships.
“You really need the new ships in all type-model-series to give us another level of capability,” Berger said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are questioning Navy officials for not including funding for amphibious ships in the service’s 2020 budget request.
“We see no amphibious ship request, no amphibious connectors,” said Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. “So there’s some concern about where we’re going to be with the necessary capability in the Navy for Marine Corps operations.”
