Fewer Marines, Larger California Desert Base
By Bob Brewin
April 16, 2013
Though the number of Marines on active duty will soon drop to 181,000 from the current level of 236,000 -- a cut of just under 25 percent – Marine Commandant James Amos told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the service wants to boost the size of its Marine Air Ground Combat Center at Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., by roughly 25 percent.