Gen. Robert Magnus, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told Washington-based defense reporters Thursday that all the military services are “shaping or reshaping” the roles of the National Guard and Reserves as they are increasingly called upon to serve overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marine Corps is trying hard to make the Marine Reserve a “mirror image” of the active force to better meet the needs of the post 9/11 environment, said Magnus, noting that the Corps for the first time had to mobilize a Reserve F/A-18 squadron. Marine Reservists, who comprise one third of the Marine force in Southwest Asia, now also receive better training and equipment inside and outside the combat zone.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
