The U.S. Marines investigated President Barack Obama before the election -- and they say they are encouraged by what they found, according to the Marine commandant.

"We asked our 'visions group' -- bright Marines at Quantico -- to examine the last 10 presidencies to give us a feel for what could arguably be the most liberal member of the Senate becoming our president," Gen. James Conway told reporters early Jan. 23. "They said that invariably a president will rally his base to get elected, but almost equally invariably he rules from the center.

"A lot of what we see early in this administration points toward that kind of effort," Conway continued. "[Obama] has, in his cabinet, a soldier, a sailor and a Marine. I find that pretty encouraging. Some of his choices -- Sec. Gates staying on [because] he is effective at what he does -- give us as military people a certain air of comfort."

So what are the Marines going to ask of the White House? "We're encouraged by the [F-35B] program," he said. "The Marine Corps hasn't bought an attack aircraft in 11 years so we anxiously await arrival of the aircraft. At this point, we think an all short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing [STOVL] fleet makes a great deal of sense. That said, we have an agreement in place with the U.S. Navy that we are wed to tactical air integration aboard the carriers."

The commandant was asked if the Marines are considering giving up their airborne electronic attack (AEA) mission in the long term because of the cost. He responded that while the Corps and the nation needs AEA, a new EA aircraft "doesn't have to have USMC on the side." Still, Conway asserted that the Corps will follow through in continuing its progressive introduction of AEA as an operational staple that meshes radio battalions and EA-6B Prowler units.

"There is a good bit of discussion taking place right now between the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in terms of what that [AEA] platform needs to look like," Conway said. "Is it necessarily manned? Is the resident capability of the F-35, with some expansion, able to serve that function?"

Indeed, the Marines have given the most thought to the JSF's use as a communications node and in other non-kinetic applications, according to the departing JSF program executive officer, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Davis (Aerospace DAILY, Jan. 20).

Meanwhile, there's also the question of how the Marines are going to make their mark on the Quadrennial Defense Review that wraps up in August, forming the heart of the first Obama-driven defense budget in fiscal 2011.

"We're pretty comfortable with where we are right now in an era of what will probably see decreasing budgets. It may be more a matter of making the case for what you think is required to sustain what we've got rather than to make any new additions," he said.

Conway said the Marines are looking at more cost-effective ways of using its fleet of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. The Marine Corps has tried to restrict its purchases to smaller, more expeditionary, Category I MRAPs, but "even then, what we've purchased for Iraq far exceeds what we will need." The Army has been investigating options for a more off-road capable vehicle for Afghan operations, but Conway said the Marines are "more frugal than that," testing an individual suspension system on existing vehicles and testing them in-theater. "As long as IEDs are a successful weapon on the battlefield, there will be a need for an MRAP-type vehicle," Conway said.

Photo: U.S. Marines Corps