Top US Marine Corps leaders warn troops of a war coming

TWO top US Marine Corps leaders have sent an ominous warning to American troops to be prepared, saying the enemy is ‘watching you’.

A TOP US Marine Corps general has sent an ominous warning to American troops stationed across the world to be prepared for a new war coming.

Marine Corps commandant General Robert Neller sent a very clear, stern warning to the troops.

“I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming,” he told them. “You’re in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence.”

This US Marine Corps in an exercise during the Infantry Officer Course at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Picture: AP

Neller pointed to the near future possibility of Russia and the Pacific theatre being the next major areas of conflict.

Sergeant Major Ronald Green of the Marine Corps sounded a similar tone.

“Just remember why you’re here,” Green said. “They’re watching. Just like you watch them, they watch you. We’ve got 300 Marines up here; we could go from 300 to 3,000 overnight. We could raise the bar.”

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, @GenRobertNeller, asks you: "Do you really want to be a Marine?" pic.twitter.com/ClmuTyA7pw

— U.S. Marines (@USMC) March 7, 2017

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller adjusts the tie of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in the White House. Picture: AP

The warnings came a day before Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., that “storm clouds are gathering” over the Korean Peninsula.

Whether the comments were more than motivational rhetoric remained unclear.

The North Korean’s Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile launch at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Picture: KCNA/AP

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis with U.S. Marine Corps troops at a rifle range at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Picture: AP

Neller and Green’s arrival in Norway coincided with heightened tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies and Russia. According to Military.com, Russia warned Norway that its decision to host a new unit of U.S. troops through the end of 2018 would negatively affect relations.

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps @18thSMMC and I visited Marines training in Norway today. Disciplined, fit, and well-led Marines and Sailors who are representing our Corps and Nation with honor. Stay ready! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Semper Fidelis pic.twitter.com/F4QrTtQ8Zm

— Robert B. Neller (@GenRobertNeller) December 20, 2017

Norway has insisted having U.S. troops stationed there is merely part of an effort to enhance ties with NATO allies and conduct cold-weather combat operations.

At a Q&A session with the troops in the Norwegian Home Guard base near Trondheim, Neller said that the U.S. could shift its focus from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, citing Russia’s conflicts with Ukraine and Georgia as justification.

He told the Marines that they should be prepared for a “big-ass fight” on the horizon.

US servicemen attend an opening ceremony of the joint military exercise Noble Partner at the Vaziani training area outside Tbilisi in Georgia last year. Picture: AFP

Russia has reportedly been uneasy about the presence of American troops close to its borders. The 300 U.S. Marines deployed to Norway in June 2016 were the first foreign troops allowed to operate in the country since World War II.

In September of this year, Russia conducted a joint-military exercise with neighbouring Belarus that involved 12,700 troops.

US troops land with parachutes at the military compound near Torun, central Poland, on June 7, 2016, as part of the NATO Anaconda-16 military exercise. Picture: AFP

A new National Security Strategy unveiled by the Trump administration on Monday singled out Russia and China as two world powers challenging “American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.”

This story originally appeared on Fox News and has been republishedwith permission.

Originally published as Top US Marine Corps leaders warn troops of a war coming