Sec. 902. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

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## SEC. 902 SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS ###

(a)Findings Congress finds the following: ####

(1)As senior United States statesman Dr. Henry Kissinger wrote in testimony submitted to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate on January 29, 2015, “The United States has not faced a more diverse and complex array of crises since the end of the Second World War.”. ####

(2)The rise of non-state forces and near peer competitors has introduced destabilizing pressures around the globe. ####

(3)Advances in information and weapons technology have reduced the time available for the United States to prepare for and respond to crises against both known and unknown threats. ####

(4)The importance of the maritime domain cannot be overstated. As acknowledged in the March 2015 Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard maritime strategy, “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower: Forward, Engaged, Ready”: “Oceans are the lifeblood of the interconnected global community. . . 90 percent of trade by volume travels across the oceans. Approximately 70 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 miles of the coastline.”. ####

(5)The United States must be prepared to rapidly respond to crises around the world regardless of the nation’s fiscal health. ####

(6)In this global security environment, it is critical that the nation possess a maritime force whose mission and ethos is readiness—a fight tonight force, forward deployed, that can respond immediately to emergent crises across the full range of military operations around the globe either from the sea or home station. ####

(7)The need for such a force was recognized by the 82nd Congress during the Korean War, when it mandated a core mission for the nation’s leanest force—the Marine Corps—to be most ready when the nation is least ready. ###

(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####

(1)the Marine Corps, within the Department of the Navy, remain the Nation’s expeditionary, crisis response force; ####

(2)the need for such a force with such a capability has never been greater; and ####

(3)accordingly, in recognition of this need and the wisdom of the 82nd Congress, the 114th Congress reaffirms section 5063 of title 10, United States Code, which states that the Marine Corps— #####

(A)shall— ######

(i)be organized to include not less than three combat divisions and three air wings, and such other land combat, aviation, and other services as may be organic therein; ######

(ii)be organized, trained, and equipped to provide fleet marine forces of combined arms, together with supporting air components, for 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; and ######

(iii)provide detachments and organizations for service on armed vessels of the Navy, provide security detachments for the protection of naval property at naval stations and bases, and perform such other duties as the President may direct; but these additional duties may not detract from nor interfere with the operations for which the Marine Corps is primarily organized; #####

(B)shall develop, in coordination with the Army and the Air Force, those phases of amphibious operations that pertain to the tactics, techniques, and equipment used by landing forces; and #####

(C)is responsible, in accordance with the integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of peacetime components of the Marine Corps to meet the needs of war. # TITLE X GENERAL PROVISIONS ## Subtitle A Financial Matters