fontman
12-02-06, 10:05 AM
CMC's Senior Officer's all hands meeting of Nov. 21, 2006
Undisclosed Author
To all,
This morning I attended Gen James T. Conway, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC's) all hands senior officer's meeting in the Pentagon Auditorium. He spoke for about 40 minutes, answered questions, and I want to share with you the topics he discussed. Feel free to forward this e-mail.
1- The CMC wants to streamline the bureaucracy in the U.S. Marine Corps (MC). He sited an example that he was here in the in the early to mid 1980's and the other day he had a routing sheet and when he looked at it, it was the same routing sheet the MC had back in the 1980's, but the decision makers on the topic he was considering were not part of the route sheet. So he wants to make the process more focused and quicker by eliminating those that don't need to be included in the decisions and go straight to the Generals that need to provide input.
2- He wants to reduce institutional strain and stress on individuals and take a hard look at the deployment rotations. Now, when the troops return, they begin to gear up for the next rotation, how is this affecting the family? The strain on the Marine? He realizes too, that many Marines are volunteering time and time again to go back in theater. He sees it as the ones with experience want to go back to train the younger Marines. "We have to be ready when the rest of the Nation is not ready."
3- He wants to look at the equipment and gear the MC has? Do they need to maintain the equipment better and invest in fixing? Or remodeling? More maintenance workers? Or is it better to buy new "stuff?"
4- Need better support for the wounded and injured Marines and their families. They need to be better informed of what is available to them and the benefits they are entitled to. Right now the Marines on the east coast and the Marines on the west coast get different information and he wants all of them to have the most up to date and best information they and their family can possibly have, so there is a need to knit a better support program together for the wounded and their families.
5- There is a need to work closer and better with the Navy at all levels, from the young enlisted to the top Generals and this is vice versa with the Navy. But with this being said, the MC will retain their requirements.
6- Regarding the rape case in the PI, the Hamandia and Haditha cases, are there issues in recruiting and training Marines? How can "we" make things better? Are these isolated incidents or is there an institutional problem? He believes these are isolated cases.
7- STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION - The CMC believes everyone in the MC should use the same talking points and give the same answers to certain questions, so he has asked the PAO to form a matrix and to do a web base talking point site that everyone can access and when a question is asked, they can look it up on the web and everyone will get the same answer, so, if there is a question regarding deployments, everyone should give the same answer.
8- He wants to decentralize decision making and push it down to the lower levels, however, when in doubt on a decision, bump it up, in particular anything having to do with the media and especially front page news, those decisions should be made at his level.
CMC has made 5 decisions:
1- The Core Competency of the MC is marksmanship, no matter what type of weapon, whether it's a rifle or a tank. He wants all Marines to wear their marksmanship medals at all times, inside the beltway and away from the beltway, because at this time they don't wear them inside the beltway.
2- He wants a 3 star Chief of Staff (CoS) on his staff and currently he is using LtGen Kramlich who is the I & L, however, he has to be careful because the LtGen was confirmed by Congress to be the I & L, therefore, with the assistance of Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) he will apply for additional 3 star billets.
3- He wants to operate like a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and he wants to flatten the command structure. He believes MAGTF's have tremendous capabilities and he wants to use them as much as possible and in particular in theater. "That's our power."
4- Young Marines will be issued Dress Blues, and it may cost the MC money to do this, but they should have them. Currently they are not issued Dress Blues upon boot camp graduation. Young Marines are being buried in borrowed Dress Blues, they should have them as their own.
5- He lived on Ft Myers and saw how the U.S. Army does PT in uniformed PT gear, he wants the MC to come up with a uniform PT gear too and to incorporate some type of reflective belt or material for times of darkness.
Undisclosed Author
To all,
This morning I attended Gen James T. Conway, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC's) all hands senior officer's meeting in the Pentagon Auditorium. He spoke for about 40 minutes, answered questions, and I want to share with you the topics he discussed. Feel free to forward this e-mail.
1- The CMC wants to streamline the bureaucracy in the U.S. Marine Corps (MC). He sited an example that he was here in the in the early to mid 1980's and the other day he had a routing sheet and when he looked at it, it was the same routing sheet the MC had back in the 1980's, but the decision makers on the topic he was considering were not part of the route sheet. So he wants to make the process more focused and quicker by eliminating those that don't need to be included in the decisions and go straight to the Generals that need to provide input.
2- He wants to reduce institutional strain and stress on individuals and take a hard look at the deployment rotations. Now, when the troops return, they begin to gear up for the next rotation, how is this affecting the family? The strain on the Marine? He realizes too, that many Marines are volunteering time and time again to go back in theater. He sees it as the ones with experience want to go back to train the younger Marines. "We have to be ready when the rest of the Nation is not ready."
3- He wants to look at the equipment and gear the MC has? Do they need to maintain the equipment better and invest in fixing? Or remodeling? More maintenance workers? Or is it better to buy new "stuff?"
4- Need better support for the wounded and injured Marines and their families. They need to be better informed of what is available to them and the benefits they are entitled to. Right now the Marines on the east coast and the Marines on the west coast get different information and he wants all of them to have the most up to date and best information they and their family can possibly have, so there is a need to knit a better support program together for the wounded and their families.
5- There is a need to work closer and better with the Navy at all levels, from the young enlisted to the top Generals and this is vice versa with the Navy. But with this being said, the MC will retain their requirements.
6- Regarding the rape case in the PI, the Hamandia and Haditha cases, are there issues in recruiting and training Marines? How can "we" make things better? Are these isolated incidents or is there an institutional problem? He believes these are isolated cases.
7- STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION - The CMC believes everyone in the MC should use the same talking points and give the same answers to certain questions, so he has asked the PAO to form a matrix and to do a web base talking point site that everyone can access and when a question is asked, they can look it up on the web and everyone will get the same answer, so, if there is a question regarding deployments, everyone should give the same answer.
8- He wants to decentralize decision making and push it down to the lower levels, however, when in doubt on a decision, bump it up, in particular anything having to do with the media and especially front page news, those decisions should be made at his level.
CMC has made 5 decisions:
1- The Core Competency of the MC is marksmanship, no matter what type of weapon, whether it's a rifle or a tank. He wants all Marines to wear their marksmanship medals at all times, inside the beltway and away from the beltway, because at this time they don't wear them inside the beltway.
2- He wants a 3 star Chief of Staff (CoS) on his staff and currently he is using LtGen Kramlich who is the I & L, however, he has to be careful because the LtGen was confirmed by Congress to be the I & L, therefore, with the assistance of Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) he will apply for additional 3 star billets.
3- He wants to operate like a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and he wants to flatten the command structure. He believes MAGTF's have tremendous capabilities and he wants to use them as much as possible and in particular in theater. "That's our power."
4- Young Marines will be issued Dress Blues, and it may cost the MC money to do this, but they should have them. Currently they are not issued Dress Blues upon boot camp graduation. Young Marines are being buried in borrowed Dress Blues, they should have them as their own.
5- He lived on Ft Myers and saw how the U.S. Army does PT in uniformed PT gear, he wants the MC to come up with a uniform PT gear too and to incorporate some type of reflective belt or material for times of darkness.