Photo By Dustin Senger | U.S. Marine Corps Col. Luke Watson speaks during a sea services panel June 6 at the...... read more read more
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Luke Watson underscored the importance of maritime readiness and strategic partnerships during a sea services panel June 6 at the Navy League National Convention in Jacksonville.
With the backdrop of the St. Johns River, which flows into the Atlantic, the colonel overseeing the hub of Marine Corps prepositioning programs, explained the importance of maritime readiness and partnerships, while seated with Navy Capt. Brian Blaschke, deputy commodore of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11, and Coast Guard Capt. Janet Espino-Young, commanding officer of Sector Jacksonville.
Watson, commanding officer of Blount Island Command and Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, addressed key aspects of the Marine Corps' evolving strategies, underlining the service's commitment to maintaining readiness and adapting to emerging threats.
The panel, facing roughly 50 people passionate about the nation’s sea services, was moderated by retired Navy Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris, national vice president of the Navy League and senior executive director for Navy business development at ManTech, a technology services company in the defense sector.
Watson opened his remarks by pointing to the long-standing partnership between the Marine Corps and the Navy.
"For the last 250 years,” Watson said, “the Marine Corps has been an integral part of the sea services team, working in close partnership with the Navy to project power, to defend our nation's interests around the globe."
He discussed adapting to the challenges of modern warfare and the Marine Corps Concept for Logistics, which treats logistics as maneuver, supporting operations in austere, expeditionary and littoral environments.
"The Marine Corps is in an interesting place," Watson said. "We have a deep history of winning our nation's battles. We have enduring strengths like the Marine Expeditionary Units that are forward deployed with Navy Amphibious Ready Groups … But we're also evolving and modernizing to make our force more agile and more lethal."
Watson elaborated on the strategic advantages of maritime expeditionary warfare, emphasizing positional advantage in contested environments, including the Stand-in Force concept’s forward presence. He highlighted the critical role of the ARG-MEU team in both competition and conflict.
"That's what we need in a contested environment,” he said. “It's the ability to be in position. It's the understanding that in today's world, in a contested environment, if you're not there when it goes down, it might be really hard to get there for a long time."
An audience member asked about the potential for the Marine Corps to shift away from afloat squadrons in favor of ashore prepositioning sites. Watson stressed the importance of maintaining a fully resourced amphibious force, supported by maritime prepositioning, despite recent reductions in ship numbers.
“There's simultaneously a realization that whenever you want to be somewhere in the world that's really far away, thousands of miles over water, you're going to need something that looks a lot like a ship to move the material."
Watson acknowledged the value of ashore sites while reaffirming the Marine Corps' commitment to maintaining its maritime capabilities, as part of creating a logistics web that is resilient to a contested environment.
"In short, that collaboration that's been going on for 250 years absolutely is essential as we go forward and look at the challenges ahead,” he said. During final remarks, the panel turned to talent management.
"The strength of the Marine Corps has always been Marines," Watson said. "I'm very optimistic about our next generation of Marines."
He acknowledged the challenges in recruiting but underlined the Marine Corps' commitment to high standards and developing quality citizens. The Marine Corps is meeting its recruiting goals while shifting its focus from recruit-and-replace to invest-and-retain.
“We've retained more Marines than we have in the past," Watson said.
"I'm very optimistic. I see those that I get to lead. I see them, and the future is bright."
The annual Navy League National Convention, a tradition dating back more than 100 years, provides a platform for members to discuss critical issues facing the sea services and advance the organization's goals of strengthening sea power through support, education and advocacy.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2025 21:33 |
| Story ID: | 499931 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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