thedrifter
08-03-04, 02:33 PM
Greybeard....I will need your help on this one......or any other wingers........
Distributed Operations: The Time Is Now
by LtGen Edward Hanlon, Jr.
Regardless of current success, the Marine Corps must
continue to develop and test new initiatives.
A few months ago the Marine Corps Combat Development Command began to examine how the capabilities of our forward deployed forces could be improved to meet some of the critical capability gaps of the combatant commanders, particularly gaps in timely, actionable intelligence and the ability to apply tailored combat power immediately, including special operations. We examined both near-term solutions based on existing equipment, organizations, and operating concepts and longer term solutions that would leverage future equipment, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), MV–22 Osprey, maritime prepositioning force (future) (MPF(F)), and future organizational approaches and operating concepts. The concept of distributed operations that is articulated in the article and vignette that follow is the result of that work.
There are three main reasons why distributed operations is the right initiative at this time in our Corps’ history.
First, despite our unprecedented operational success in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, current stability and support operations clearly indicate that now is not the time to drop our packs and rest on our well-deserved laurels. Our enemies in the global war on terrorism—al-Qaeda and other organizations like them—are watching, learning, and adapting. They will continue to present us with new threats and challenges, and we’ll need to adapt our methods to successfully deal with them. Moreover, to retain the initiative—not just react—we need to develop and apply new approaches and new tactics, staying a step ahead. Distributed operations will provide a set of new capabilities toward these ends.
Second, we are fast approaching the operational threshold on a number of technologically enabled new capabilities that will dramatically enhance the combat power, speed, and reach of our Operating Forces. Operational maneuver from the sea, ship-to-objective maneuver, and seabasing are well-known concepts that will soon be realized by leveraging the transformational capabilities offered by the MV–22 Osprey, expeditionary fighting vehicle, LCAC, and MPF(F). Yet there are other new developments—the JSF and new over-the-horizon/on-the-move command and control systems, for example—that still need to be fully leveraged by seabased Marine air-ground task forces.
Third, and most importantly, I see in distributed operations the opportunity to realize the full potential of the small unit leader in carrying the Marine Corps’ legacy of innovation forward, especially the noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and junior officers who are leading our infantry units. It’s almost axiomatic that we routinely underestimate what our NCOs are capable of until they prove it time and again in the crucible of combat. Distributed operations will offer them an unprecedented new challenge, and it will similarly challenge the young officers—lieutenants and captains—who are leading them. The development of these leaders is the centerpiece of this initiative.
The article and vignette that follow are points of departure for taking the distributed operations concept forward, developing and refining it, and turning it into real capabilities in the future. We need Marines to engage in a spirited, broadbased debate over these ideas, similar to the debate over maneuver warfare in the 1980s. Along with our formal experimentation program, Marines—at all levels—should take these ideas to the field to test and refine them. Then we must share our experiences with others. In this regard, the Marine Corps Gazette provides a vitally important forum for the exchange of ideas.
Semper Fidelis.
>LtGen Hanlon is the Deputy Commandant, Combat Development.
http://www.mca-marines.org/Gazette/0704hanlon.html
Ellie
Distributed Operations: The Time Is Now
by LtGen Edward Hanlon, Jr.
Regardless of current success, the Marine Corps must
continue to develop and test new initiatives.
A few months ago the Marine Corps Combat Development Command began to examine how the capabilities of our forward deployed forces could be improved to meet some of the critical capability gaps of the combatant commanders, particularly gaps in timely, actionable intelligence and the ability to apply tailored combat power immediately, including special operations. We examined both near-term solutions based on existing equipment, organizations, and operating concepts and longer term solutions that would leverage future equipment, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), MV–22 Osprey, maritime prepositioning force (future) (MPF(F)), and future organizational approaches and operating concepts. The concept of distributed operations that is articulated in the article and vignette that follow is the result of that work.
There are three main reasons why distributed operations is the right initiative at this time in our Corps’ history.
First, despite our unprecedented operational success in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, current stability and support operations clearly indicate that now is not the time to drop our packs and rest on our well-deserved laurels. Our enemies in the global war on terrorism—al-Qaeda and other organizations like them—are watching, learning, and adapting. They will continue to present us with new threats and challenges, and we’ll need to adapt our methods to successfully deal with them. Moreover, to retain the initiative—not just react—we need to develop and apply new approaches and new tactics, staying a step ahead. Distributed operations will provide a set of new capabilities toward these ends.
Second, we are fast approaching the operational threshold on a number of technologically enabled new capabilities that will dramatically enhance the combat power, speed, and reach of our Operating Forces. Operational maneuver from the sea, ship-to-objective maneuver, and seabasing are well-known concepts that will soon be realized by leveraging the transformational capabilities offered by the MV–22 Osprey, expeditionary fighting vehicle, LCAC, and MPF(F). Yet there are other new developments—the JSF and new over-the-horizon/on-the-move command and control systems, for example—that still need to be fully leveraged by seabased Marine air-ground task forces.
Third, and most importantly, I see in distributed operations the opportunity to realize the full potential of the small unit leader in carrying the Marine Corps’ legacy of innovation forward, especially the noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and junior officers who are leading our infantry units. It’s almost axiomatic that we routinely underestimate what our NCOs are capable of until they prove it time and again in the crucible of combat. Distributed operations will offer them an unprecedented new challenge, and it will similarly challenge the young officers—lieutenants and captains—who are leading them. The development of these leaders is the centerpiece of this initiative.
The article and vignette that follow are points of departure for taking the distributed operations concept forward, developing and refining it, and turning it into real capabilities in the future. We need Marines to engage in a spirited, broadbased debate over these ideas, similar to the debate over maneuver warfare in the 1980s. Along with our formal experimentation program, Marines—at all levels—should take these ideas to the field to test and refine them. Then we must share our experiences with others. In this regard, the Marine Corps Gazette provides a vitally important forum for the exchange of ideas.
Semper Fidelis.
>LtGen Hanlon is the Deputy Commandant, Combat Development.
http://www.mca-marines.org/Gazette/0704hanlon.html
Ellie