Marine Tanks: The Hard Punch of America's Middle-Weight Fighting Force

The Commandant of the Marine Corps made a bitterly debated decision in 2019 to divest the Corps of its tanks. This 2011 thesis will help readers understand just why some portions of the Marine community miss their tanks so badly. This document provides an overview of the performance and capabilities of Marine Tanks in various combat environments. It highlights their success in both high kinetic conventional fights, such as the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in unconventional high intensity environments, using the Battle of Fallujah as an example. The document also discusses the role of tanks in low intensity environments, specifically in Somalia during humanitarian operations. It emphasizes the superior offensive capability, survivability, and firepower of Marine Tanks, and their importance in supporting the Marine Air Ground Task Force. Additionally, the document mentions the current deployment of tanks in Afghanistan and the potential threats posed by countries like North Korea, Russia, and China. This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; three essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Grounds for Dissent, Red Team Critique, and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page.