USMC Remain Ships Guards

The Air Force metaphor has me thinking that the best POD is having the ship’s captains insist on keeping their Marines in 1909, but the Marines still try to develop advanced operation tactics with more limited resources. The Army Coast Artillery keeps the defense battalion mission but the Marines are limited to company-size landing forces intended for raids and possibly as serving as pathfinders for Amphibious operations at the dawn of WWII.

Maybe the Marines form something like the British Commandos for maritime raiding instead of the Army?
 
Thats one or two fairly likely outcomes. A small special ops & utility ops group within the Navy. As UDT transitions from diver/engineering service to a combat service as the SEALS these Marine/Navy specialties might become mixed into small special service units. A bit like the several special ops capable MEU that were first deployed back in the 1980s.

The Air Force remarks caused me to consider ;) WI the Army Air Corps in the 1930s started experimenting with airborne ops. In OTL 1918 Air Corps staffers worked out a plan for a 'division' size airborne op for the spring of 1919. Consider if the Air Corps has by the latter 30s a experimental group of airborne squadrons; parachutists, gliders, combat transports, & other assorted support. By the time the US Army as a whole figures out it needs airborne forces the Air Corps has a number of 'Airborne Wings' forming up. Later in the 1950s the USAF develops 'Airmobile' or 'Air Assault' Wings using helicopters.

But I digress.
 
Thats one or two fairly likely outcomes. A small special ops & utility ops group within the Navy. As UDT transitions from diver/engineering service to a combat service as the SEALS these Marine/Navy specialties might become mixed into small special service units. A bit like the several special ops capable MEU that were first deployed back in the 1980s.

The Air Force remarks caused me to consider ;) WI the Army Air Corps in the 1930s started experimenting with airborne ops. In OTL 1918 Air Corps staffers worked out a plan for a 'division' size airborne op for the spring of 1919. Consider if the Air Corps has by the latter 30s a experimental group of airborne squadrons; parachutists, gliders, combat transports, & other assorted support. By the time the US Army as a whole figures out it needs airborne forces the Air Corps has a number of 'Airborne Wings' forming up. Later in the 1950s the USAF develops 'Airmobile' or 'Air Assault' Wings using helicopters.

But I digress.

I posted about this a while ago. Airfield seizure is the main mission of US Army airborne forces, but it could easily be argued as an Air Force mission. I was thinking that with a POD in the 1970’s the Air Force could set up a special operations airfield seizure/defense force, probably around three battalions strong, with the mission of acting as a vanguard for the 82nd Airborne.

Your scenario seems very plausible, but it introduces a lot of questions for how the services will be split up after WWII. OTL Air Force leadership wouldn’t want anything so humble as infantry, it it could be argued the global response mission of the 82nd should be Air Force due to its strategic nature.
 
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Your scenario seems very plausible, but it introduces a lot of questions for how the services will be split up after WWII. OTL Air Force leadership wouldn’t want anything so humble as infantry, it it could be argued the global response mission of the 82nd should be Air Force due to its strategic nature.

Depends on the whim of the USAF CoS at the time. If the AF keeps the airborne forces then the Army is liable to get more slack in retaining tactical aircraft and transports.
 
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