No, the Marine corps can't hold Korea, Taiwan, Afghanistan, Iraq, the gulf, and the Balkans simultaneously. It is nice to have air supremacy but Kosovo is not much of a recipe, and whenever the NCAs actually want to change things they need men on the ground in numbers, and that means the army.
As for "the major theater war business", one side cannot decide to get out of it. It only takes one. If NK decides it is in that business, then we are in that business. Also, the US NCAs show no sign whatever of getting out of the remaking of countries business, which tends to be preceeded by the MTW business, not all tyrants being willing to go gently into that good night.
It is obviously absurd to pretend the nation doesn't need an army. Anyone who doesn't acknowledge that has no place in a rational debate about force structure. None of the services is going to simply disappear, because they all exist for reasons which have not changed and are not going to change.
Neither can the active Army.
The US Army is not on Taiwan.
The Army is moving out of Korea. They have already moved out of Seoul. The reason the first Stryker Brigade was designated 3rd Brigade, 2ID, was because it was originally intended to relieve the two brigades there now.
whenever the NCAs actually want to change things they need men on the ground in numbers, and that means the army.
So that's why Rummy and Schoomaker don't want two more divisions?
As for "the major theater war business", one side cannot decide to get out of it. It only takes one. If NK decides it is in that business, then we are in that business.
If the NK's started the invasion tomorrow morning, what role would the US Army play? What reinforcements would Eighth Army get? 172nd Infantry Brigade? Nope, they are transitioning to Strykers and are undeployable and one of their battalions is in Afghanistan. 25th ID? Nope. They have one brigade transitioning to Strykers, one in Afghanistan and one fixing to go. Maybe somebody smarter than us isn't too worried about the NK's right now.
Who besides the NK's?
The Syrians, the Iranians, then who? The Pakistanis? The Chinese? You want to fight a land war in Asia?
It is obviously absurd to pretend the nation doesn't need an army.
Obviously. Who is pretending any such thing?
None of the services is going to simply disappear, because they all exist for reasons which have not changed and are not going to change.
Warfare has changed. Technology has changed. Americans have changed. But you don't think the armed forces are going to change?
The Army is not going to disappear, but it is going to transform into a very different organization. The most likely enemy is no longer another army.
What's driving a lot of this is the insecurity of the Army's leadership. You don't see admirals and Marine and Air Force generals writing about how to remain "relevant."