In a war with China, which would likely be largely amphibious, the Marines would play a central and distinct role from that of the other branches. As set down in federal law, the Marines’ primary mission is to provide “service with the fleet in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and for the conduct of such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign.” In the South China Sea, this means the Marines would often operate far from other U.S. resources out of small land bases that will be easily cut off from support from U.S. military command and control, intelligence platforms, longer-range weapons systems, and combined-arms capabilities.

The PLA could throw excellent long-range antiship missiles at U.S. Navy aircraft carriers to keep their F-35 squadrons too far from the fight to make a difference. PLA warships, long-range bombers and fighters would aim to overwhelm U.S. forces in scale and in various locales. The PLA is also likely to use massive cyber and satellite attacks to blind the U.S. military and deplete Washington’s resolve. As Gen. Berger explained in a February podcast, he believes the Marines will need to operate as an organic kill chain that doesn’t rely on support from other U.S. military surveillance, strike, logistics and command assets.