Marines reset training for the next war

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/02/marines-train-at-29Palms-to-fight-next-war/

Marines reset training for the next war
By Gretel C. KovachnoonFeb. 2, 2013

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — The U.S. military spent the last decade fighting entrenched insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. What will the next war be like? Will it involve desert, mountains or jungle? An enemy who speaks Farsi or Korean? A national army fighting with tanks, or guerillas planting homemade bombs?

It is impossible to know. While future wars remain unseen over the horizon and budget woes squeeze the military budget, the Marine Corps is resetting its combat training to get back to the basics and play to its strengths.

The changes are evident at the Twentynine Palms Marine combat center. The vast base in the Mojave Desert about 175 miles northeast of San Diego hosts the "Super Bowl" of Marine training, a monthlong exercise that is usually the final stop for battalions deploying overseas.

Now, as the flow of Marines heading to Afghanistan dwindles, the program is being rebooted toward more universal war-fighting skills. Contingency funding for role players that make combat training more realistic for the Afghanistan theater is also diminishing, prompting a cut in half of the 950 actors the base used to employ.