thedrifter
02-05-04, 07:35 AM
Marine Corps Gazette
February Editorial: Every Marine a . . . !
The Marine Corps credo, “every Marine a rifleman,” seems to have become etched in stone. We live it. We breathe it. We ensure every Marine, regardless of MOS, understands and is proficient with his/her personal weapon.
But it’s more than proficiency with individual weapons. And it’s even much more than basic marksmanship and elementary tactics. We have gone way beyond the idea of every Marine a rifleman. By virtue of the evolving environment in this interesting global war on terrorism (GWOT), we have moved more toward “every Marine a student of warfare.”
The past two conflicts—Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)—have forced us away from our old way of thinking. The staid old command relationships of the subordination of the commander, landing force to commander, amphibious task force until command is passed ashore is a relic of the past. We have seen a Marine general officer commanding Navy ships as part of Task Force 58. We now have a Marine general officer commanding an expeditionary strike group and a Marine colonel commanding a carrier air group.
This evolution is natural and is more a function of adjusting to realities than adhering to outdated doctrine. It amounts to an understanding that we have a mission, a finite kit bag of resources, and an enemy that no longer plays by conventional rules. Call it GWOT. Call it fourth-generation warfare. Call the enemy nonstate actors. It doesn’t matter what we label the enemy. He is forcing us to react on a different plane.
We can’t afford the old ways of doing business. We must identify our thinkers—our students of warfare and move them along at every echelon of command. Before long we will see major impacts on school curricula for professional military education and major changes throughout our various doctrine mills, to include the formulation of joint doctrine.
Much of this evolution will take place over the long term. What makes the Marine Corps such a special arrow in the Nation’s defense quiver is that we are churning away every day facing up to this relatively new GWOT threat. Both our Operating Forces and Supporting Establishment, to include the schoolhouses, are totally focused on this new reality. Marine Forces Reserve are likewise making necessary adjustments as we have seen approximately 50 percent of our Reserves already called to active duty for OIF.
The training establishment is adjusting. So is education. Likewise acquisition. Manpower is adapting in the short term, and we will see force structure change over the long term.
But what difference does all of this make to the Marine on the ground? All of the difference in the world. With the upcoming round two of OIF we will see our Marines in the Sunni Triangle. The business of killing people and breaking things will be secondary to the primary job at hand—rebuilding the infrastructure and providing security so we can turn the country back to its rightful owners.
And the training is ongoing at a rapid pace. Our Marines with boots on the ground will be diplomats, humanitarian assistants, engineers, logisticians, educators, and trainers—as well as warriors.
Our ability to switch gears quickly doesn’t just happen. Our leaders are thinking, doing, and adjusting—seemingly on the fly. Some skeptics might argue that the Marines will find it too tough in Fallujah and Ramadi. I wouldn’t bet against our Marines. The preparation for going back in has been intense. We will prevail.
Our focus this month is on OIF. We are privileged to have the lead article by the assistant division commander of 1st MarDiv explaining how we handled Phase IV of OIF and showing the way for the move back into Iraq. In addition, the commanding general of the 1st MarDiv provides insight on the importance of professional reading and study in preparing for engagements such as OIF.
The changing landscape of GWOT demands that we adapt. We are doing so quite nicely, and the end result is that every Marine must become much more than a rifleman.
http://www.mca-marines.org/Gazette/edt.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
February Editorial: Every Marine a . . . !
The Marine Corps credo, “every Marine a rifleman,” seems to have become etched in stone. We live it. We breathe it. We ensure every Marine, regardless of MOS, understands and is proficient with his/her personal weapon.
But it’s more than proficiency with individual weapons. And it’s even much more than basic marksmanship and elementary tactics. We have gone way beyond the idea of every Marine a rifleman. By virtue of the evolving environment in this interesting global war on terrorism (GWOT), we have moved more toward “every Marine a student of warfare.”
The past two conflicts—Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)—have forced us away from our old way of thinking. The staid old command relationships of the subordination of the commander, landing force to commander, amphibious task force until command is passed ashore is a relic of the past. We have seen a Marine general officer commanding Navy ships as part of Task Force 58. We now have a Marine general officer commanding an expeditionary strike group and a Marine colonel commanding a carrier air group.
This evolution is natural and is more a function of adjusting to realities than adhering to outdated doctrine. It amounts to an understanding that we have a mission, a finite kit bag of resources, and an enemy that no longer plays by conventional rules. Call it GWOT. Call it fourth-generation warfare. Call the enemy nonstate actors. It doesn’t matter what we label the enemy. He is forcing us to react on a different plane.
We can’t afford the old ways of doing business. We must identify our thinkers—our students of warfare and move them along at every echelon of command. Before long we will see major impacts on school curricula for professional military education and major changes throughout our various doctrine mills, to include the formulation of joint doctrine.
Much of this evolution will take place over the long term. What makes the Marine Corps such a special arrow in the Nation’s defense quiver is that we are churning away every day facing up to this relatively new GWOT threat. Both our Operating Forces and Supporting Establishment, to include the schoolhouses, are totally focused on this new reality. Marine Forces Reserve are likewise making necessary adjustments as we have seen approximately 50 percent of our Reserves already called to active duty for OIF.
The training establishment is adjusting. So is education. Likewise acquisition. Manpower is adapting in the short term, and we will see force structure change over the long term.
But what difference does all of this make to the Marine on the ground? All of the difference in the world. With the upcoming round two of OIF we will see our Marines in the Sunni Triangle. The business of killing people and breaking things will be secondary to the primary job at hand—rebuilding the infrastructure and providing security so we can turn the country back to its rightful owners.
And the training is ongoing at a rapid pace. Our Marines with boots on the ground will be diplomats, humanitarian assistants, engineers, logisticians, educators, and trainers—as well as warriors.
Our ability to switch gears quickly doesn’t just happen. Our leaders are thinking, doing, and adjusting—seemingly on the fly. Some skeptics might argue that the Marines will find it too tough in Fallujah and Ramadi. I wouldn’t bet against our Marines. The preparation for going back in has been intense. We will prevail.
Our focus this month is on OIF. We are privileged to have the lead article by the assistant division commander of 1st MarDiv explaining how we handled Phase IV of OIF and showing the way for the move back into Iraq. In addition, the commanding general of the 1st MarDiv provides insight on the importance of professional reading and study in preparing for engagements such as OIF.
The changing landscape of GWOT demands that we adapt. We are doing so quite nicely, and the end result is that every Marine must become much more than a rifleman.
http://www.mca-marines.org/Gazette/edt.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: