Compass Points - A Clear Direction
Wisdom from Dr. Ivan Getting.
Compass Points - A Clear Direction
Wisdom from Dr. Ivan Getting.
May 24, 2024
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Senior Marine Corps leaders seem to be talking about three different Marine Corps.
1. The new sitting and sensing Marine Corps.
2. The light infantry Marine Corps.
3. The powerful combined arms Marine Corps.
Perhaps it is time for Marine Corps senior leaders to meet Dr. Ivan Getting. He has something important to teach the Marine Corps. Who is Dr. Getting?
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Dr. Ivan Getting, an American physicist and engineer, is one of the key figures in the creation of GPS . . . Dr. Getting’s contributions were focused on the concept of using satellites for global navigation and positioning. He was instrumental in developing the concept of the first satellite-based navigation system that could provide accurate positioning and timing information. His work significantly influenced the development of GPS and set the stage for the U.S. Department of Defense’s NAVSTAR program, which ultimately led to the creation of the GPS system.
-- James Hardy
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More about Dr. Getting shortly. It is worth reviewing first what Marine leaders have said recently about what the Marine Corps should be.
One senior Marine leader has claimed the Marine Corps should be focused on becoming a sitting and sensing force -- no need to be concerned with "blowing stuff up."
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That new Marine focus, sensing threats and passing data, has been part of how force design has evolved, Heckl said. “As we went on this force design journey, we started out we initially thought of blowing stuff up, very kinetically oriented, now we realize through the stand in force it’s really the capability of sensing and making sense,” Heckl said.
-- Marine Times
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Another senior Marine leader recently lauded the Marine Corps -- not as a sitting and sensing force -- but as a light infantry force. The Marine Times reports, "No. 2 Marine, a pilot, insists on continued primacy of infantry." The infantry that was praised must be light infantry because in recent years the Marine Corps has pulled some $18.2 billion from legacy capabilities including getting rid of some or all of armor, artillery, combat breaching and bridging, and much more.
So which is it?
Sit and sense Marine Corps?
Or light infantry Marine Corps?
Or perhaps a third direction?
In his Frag Order 01-2024, the Commandant of the Marine Corps states the Marine Corps will continue to be a powerful and flexible combined arms force.
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We are and will remain a naval expeditionary force that fights from the sea as task-organized combined arms air-ground task forces . . . our Nation’s expeditionary shock troops that can deliver combat power from sea to land . . . we will be forward deployed with both conventional and special operations forces . . . .
-- Commandant’s Frag Order O1-2024
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The Marine Air Ground Logistics Task Force (MAGTF) is a powerful, flexible middle-weight force that knocks out adversaries with a one - two punch. The MAGTF comes in three sizes: the small MEU, the larger MEB, and the full MEF. When a crisis erupts, Marines arrive on scene and jab first and fast with the MEU, that stuns the adversary. But then, when the MEU is rapidly expanded into a larger MEB, that is the knockout punch. Jab with the smaller MEU; knockout with the larger MEB and MEF.
What is the focus of the Marine Corps today?
What is the focus of the Marine Corps tomorrow?
1. The new sitting and sensing Marine Corps?
2. The light infantry Marine Corps?
3. The powerful, combined arms Marine Corps?
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If the Marine Corps is going to arrive at one of those destinations, it must be clear where it wants to go.
That is the wisdom of Dr. Ivan Getting, the scientist behind the GPS.
Any driver can get where they are going. They need only plug in the destination to the GPS. No matter how lost a driver is. No matter how many wrongs turns have been made. The driver can start right now getting on the best route to their destination. The key is the driver must know where they want to go. Without a clear destination, the driver can never get there. The GPS cannot provide directions to an unclear driver with an unclear destination.
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The Marine Corps needs to be clear on where it is going. It is time for a Commandant's Planning Guidance that provides a clear direction. The Marine Corps cannot focus on everything. A squad of Marines cannot march in every direction at the same time. The Marine Corps must choose the direction it wants to go. What does the Nation need most from Marines? A sit and sense force? A light infantry force? Or does the Nation need Marine leadership to clearly focus on one thing:
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We are and will remain a naval expeditionary force that fights from the sea as task-organized combined arms air-ground task forces . . . our Nation’s expeditionary shock troops that can deliver combat power from sea to land . . . we will be forward deployed with both conventional and special operations forces . . . .
-- Commandant’s Frag Order O1-2024
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Congress and Dr. Ivan Getting are ready to help. All the Marine Corps needs to do is get clear on where it is going.
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History Cooperative - 12/20/2023
Who Invented GPS? Powerful Minds Behind the History of GPS
By James Hardy
https://historycooperative.org/who-invented-gps/
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Marine Times - 05/02/2024
Marine Corps’ new Force Design approaches are paying off in operations
By Todd South
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Marine Times - 05/13/2024
No. 2 Marine, a pilot, insists on continued primacy of infantry
By Irene Loewenson
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Marines
Frag Order 01-2024
The Commandant knows exactly where he is taking the Marine Corps. As ACMC, he was the most vocal - - and arguably, most eloquent - - advocate for Force Design 2030 and Talent Management 2030, even more so than General Berger. In his recently released FRAGO 01-2024, he unabashedly states, “I’ve had some time to reflect over the past few months and remain firmly committed to our current path.” Under his watch, we have already seen the 12th Marines redesignated the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment and the removal of school trained snipers from the infantry battalions.
Let no one be deceived by lofty talking points that tout the primacy of the infantry, the efficacy of combined arms, or the gold standard of the MAGTF. Today, only two amphibious ships are forward deployed worldwide with embarked Marines. Forward presence and crisis response have also become empty words.
The new Marine Corps has arrived. It is no longer a work in progress. It is an empty shell of its former self - - no armor, no bridging, insufficient cannon artillery, insufficient and poorly designed amphibious vehicles, virtually no assault breaching, no resiliency in infantry or aviation or logistics, and lacking adequate support in amphibious lift and maritime prepositioning. Divest to invest has been a colossal failure. Proven and essential capabilities needed to fight and win today have been discarded, while future, experimental capabilities remain little more than “pipe dreams.” The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) will likely never ply the waters of the Western Pacific; certainly not in the numbers (35) the Marines say are required to support the Stand-in Forces (SIF) concept. The anti-ship missiles being sought are subsonic, short range. They are inferior to other services’ capabilities and will certainly be ineffective and largely obsolete by the time they are fielded in number, if not already.
When Gen Berger became the CMC he did not know what type of Marine Corps he wanted. He knew he did not want the one we had. Tear it down, sell it off and in the meantime figure out what we want. The first part unfolded rapidly. Five years later a new one has not been created and is not on track to be created over the next five years. No one can even provide an end state on what this new Corps will be five years from now. No T/O, no T/E, no mission and no plan. It is a muddle around, experiment, review and make grandiose pronouncements.
I do not like sports analogies but from time to time they fit. We got rid of running backs, linebackers and the punter. We have no play book and no practice concepts. We are not sure that every player needs a helmet or shoulder pads. Most importantly, we do not know when we will play the next game or how many games there will be. Think this team will win a single game? Of course not. It won’t even score. Damn… maybe we can restructure it into the badminton team.