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Tips for Secretary Mabus

Incoming Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has a lot to wrap his brain around since being sworn in on May 19.

There are a few things about the Marine Corps this former sailor should make a priority from day one:

• Increase dwell time. Any recruiter can tell you that Marines join to fight. That’s why the infantry is always the first specialty to fill up. But Marines also want to enjoy some of the freedoms they’re fighting to provide.

Seven months away from home followed by seven months back, much of it spent preparing to leave again, is inadequate. Dwell time should be double deployed time, at least.

• Deal with the EFV — Marine leaders insist the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is a must-have program, needed to get Marines from ship to shore safely and quickly. But the EFV is over budget and its flat-bottomed aluminum hull can’t face the modern threat of roadside bombs. Either kill this puppy or send it back for a redesign.

• Honor valor. Death should not be a requirement for the Medal of Honor.

Yet nearly eight years of fighting have failed to yield a single living recipient, from any service. That’s more than simple coincidence. It takes leadership to solve this one, and it’s got to come from the top.

• Lean on the colonel. Incoming Undersecretary Robert Work was sworn in May 20, becoming the Navy’s first chief management officer. Work — a retired Marine colonel and 27-year veteran who once served as senior aide to Navy Secretary Richard Danzig — holds three master’s degrees and was a widely respected military analyst prior to his nomination. His experience in Marine Corps issues is world class, and his advice will be invaluable.